Ren and Nora's Stories
by UniqueArtist
Summary: Series of fluffy shenanigans with Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie! (And, at times, the rest of team JNPR/RWBY!) - This is kinda like a series of one-shots but ..within the same universe? :D (Both platonic & romantic Renora) (Previously named Ren and Nora's Mornings)
1. Gooood Morning!

**They are having a typical morning. Ren and Nora go to the Kitchen. She's expecting pancakes, but he has something else in mind.**

 **This is my first time writing anything in years, honestly. Haha... I'm a little shy/nervous about posting it.**

 **I hope you all like it! It's just a goofy little Team JNPR one-shot that came to my mind while I was making myself some breakfast ;)**

 **Critiques and helpful comments are welcome!  
**

* * *

6:10 a.m. Without even opening his eyes, Ren shuts off the alarm on his scroll with a loud sigh. He sighs every time he wakes up earlier than he would like. Sitting up on his bed, he scans his eyes across the shared dorm room. This was easy for him since he chose the bed all the way to the far right of the room (to the right if you're standing at the door, staring at the beds. If you're sitting on the beds and facing the door, Ren is to the far left.)

Here, he has a view of the entire dorm. No intruders, no monsters, and, most importantly: Nora is sleeping safely in her bed. He noted that Pyrrha and Jaune are not in their beds. This is normal: Every morning they would jog around the school, much to Jaune's dissent, and work on his fighting.

It is your typical Wednesday at Beacon Academy. Being half way through the semester, the daily routine is beginning to feel… tedious. The first few weeks were fun and exciting; Learning new things from your awesome professors, having fun battles with your peers and the occasional grimm, being woken up every morning by an excitable and energetic Nora, getting into shenanigans with team RWBY, and even staying up late to play video games or have study sessions with your dorm-mates. However, all that has begun to settle down now that everyone has gotten into the same, boring routine.

Learning new lessons from your awesome professors has turned into long, mundane lectures which could put you to sleep. Those fun battles have turned into an exhausting, unnecessary work out. He has practiced against these peers and beowolves for so long now, he no longer feels challenged. Team RWBY and JNPR no longer cause mayhem (no thanks to Glynda Goodwitch.) Being woken up every morning by an excitable Nora? That phase is long gone now. There are two sides to morning-Nora: Wakes up at 5 a.m with all the energy a human body could possibly sustain (this usually happens when something new or exciting is happening.) Or, much like today, she would rather lazily sleep in until 3 p.m where she will then have an endless amount of energy. There is no in-between.

...Except when there is class and she has to be forced awake by the sound of her alarm every morning at 6:30 a.m. This leads to a sleepy, grumpy Nora for the next few hours.

Ren peels himself from his bed and makes his way to the bathroom, where he will then prepare himself for the day to come. As usual, Ren thought to himself:

 _It seems as though everyone has been a little inattentive. Not that Beacon isn't interesting, however, things have been the same for so long now.. We are all running on autopilot._

Every morning, after Ren uses the bathroom and takes his ninja-quick shower, he would head over to their small kitchen in the other room and begin cooking up some breakfast for the team: pancakes, of course. However, today, he simply stopped in his tracks in the middle of the dim-lit bedroom. Instead of making his way from the bathroom directly to the kitchen, he stood and looked around the room again. His eyes landed on the bed next to his: Nora's. She could be mistaken for a giant, lumpy burrito underneath her blankets. A small smirk appears on Ren's face.

" **AHHHHHH!** " Nora let out an extremely loud, high-pitched scream. Within an second, Ren was on the ground. Nora may be a heavy sleeper, but her quick reflexes are a force to be reckoned with. Apparently, Ren had jumped on top of her bed to try and wake her. When he landed on her, he also started to tickle her...or, attempted to... until she **threw** him.

He is never afraid of being silly around Nora, but had Jaune and Pyrrha been here, he would not have done this.

 _Okay… trying to wake her up? Bad idea, Ren.._ Nora was attacking him, repeatedly, with a pillow.

"NORA!" Shouts Ren, protecting his face from her merciless pillow attacks. She was sitting on top of him while he was on the ground, in between both of their beds.

" **WHHAT!?** " Nora yells even louder, not realizing who she was even attacking.

"IT'S JUST ME!" Ren ends this sentence with a small chuckle at the end of it. Although he was being attacked, he was extremely amused. He was glad, at the same time, that she is able to defend herself, half-asleep, should there be a real attacker in the room.

"Uh…" Nora rubs her eyes to get a better look at the person she was sitting on, "Oh! Ren! What the..?!" For once in her life, she was at a loss of words. Not out of shock, but confusion.

Why are they on the ground? Why would Ren wake her up like this? Why aren't the pancakes done? Why is he under her? Why is the sky blue? Why is he _laughing_?!

"What the hell, Ren! What's wrong with you?" Nora crossed her arms, a tad grumpy. She was holding back the small smile that threatened to appear on her face. Ren's laughter was one of her favorite sounds.

"You looked rather comfortable. I thought it would be amusing to disturb you…. It appears I was right." Ren smiled proudly.

"It appears you ate some pillow for breakfast." Nora grinned.

"What?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow. Before he knew it, his face has met with a pillow with extreme force. "Ow! Nora, what was that for?"

"You looked rather comfortable. I thought it would be amusing to attack your face. It appears I was right." Nora smiled proudly.

"Alright, alright. I am sorry for disturbing your sleep. I just wanted to make a small change to our daily routine. May I get up now? I would like to make some breakfast for us."

"Aw, Ren. You don't have to apologize. It was just unexpected..and kind of fun! This made my morning. You're so silly sometimes. PANCAKES?" Nora rambles slightly, stands up, and helps Ren get to his feet as well. She may be much shorter than him, but her strength can match even the toughest huntsman in school.

"Well I'm glad I was able to make you happy. Haven't we had pancakes for the past 6 days? Don't you want something else? I make a mean omelet, too. With some tomatoes in it… Mmmm.." Nora made a fake gag face while Ren spoke.

"Listen, Ren. Shh...Listen." Nora started, but didn't continue. She stood still and stared into space.

"? Well ..?" Ren stared at her as they made their way towards the kitchen.

"You hear that?" Nora whispered, becoming silent. Ren's eyes shifted across the room as he heightened his awareness. His body became tense. He heard nothing but silence. She continued, whispering in his ear, "That's the sound of all the people who want your omelet."

With this, Nora started cackling. Ren's face relaxed and gave her a blank stare.

"Really, Nora?" Ren was not amused. Although he loved cooking for Nora, he was growing tired of making her pancakes every day. Not the act of making her the pancakes, per se, but the knowledge that he is the one feeding her all of the _unhealthy junk_ she eats for breakfast. Pancakes and syrup are nice every once in awhile, but too much too often can not be good for the body.

"But I love your pancakes!" She whimpers and begins to pout. He sighs as she rests her head on his shoulder, "Pweeez?"

Ren obviously takes a few seconds to think about it. A small grin appears on his face.

"Alright, fine. Under one condition!"

"Yes?!" Nora's eyes widened.

"You go get Jaune and Pyrrha. Teams that eat breakfast together, stay together." He said with a smile. They usually wait until the duo come back on their own, but Ren wanted Nora to leave for a little while.

"Okay!" Nora shouts, running out of the kitchen. "Let me go put on a bra first!" Ren could hear her running around in the bedroom. He blushes and laughs at her last comment. Nora isn't shy at all. Growing up together the way they did, being open and getting changed near each other was unavoidable. It was only the two of them for so long. He was even there with her when she first got her period and thought she was going to die!

Ren laughs at the memory. Though their history wasn't the most pleasant, he is still grateful that he was not alone. He turns on the stove and prepares the skillet.

His idea wasn't genius, but he was hoping that it was one step closer to getting Nora to eat healthier:

 _Sure, I'll make her pancakes. But these won't be the sugar-loaded, unhealthy pancakes she is used to. Organic, sugar free pancakes. Whole wheat flour is a good source of carbohydrates for energy. . And fat-free, organic milk. She'll eat these, and won't even notice. When I tell her that these are healthier, maybe she'll take my healthier meal options into consideration! Oh! Sugar-free syrup? Perfect. Syrup is sweet enough, anyway… who the heck needs-_

Ren's thoughts were slightly interrupted by the sounds coming from his skillet. It was time to plate the pancake and make a few more. On the side, he cooked up some eggs, ham, and bacon. He also made a bowl of fruit salad, actual salad, avocado toast, and threw some pre-made biscuits into the oven. He knew Jaune and Pyrrha didn't want to just eat pancakes everyday, and he also knew that Pyrrha was vegetarian. He wanted to give them some options.

He was used to taking over the kitchen, he loved cooking for everyone. It would take him back to the days where he would help his mother make breakfast for him and his 4 siblings. The sounds of the kitchen, clinking tupperware, sizzling skillets. The warmth of the fire and oven, the smell of the delicious homemade food. The laughter of his family. His mom was a single mom for a while, but she always made sure that he and his siblings were never without food, warmth, and love. He always had love.

"Are you okay?" Nora's question startled Ren.

"Pardon?" He didn't expect her to be here so soon.

"You looked really sad. Your lips were kinda smiling, but your eyes and everything else was just sad. What is it? Is it your mom? Do you want to stop and talk?" Nora slightly-babbled. She does this when she gets nervous. She had a frown on her face while her eyes were wide with worry. She knew this look from a mile away.

"What? I'm okay Nora, don't worry. Thank you for your concern." Ren's magenta eyes lit up once again. She never fails to amaze him. She always knew what he was thinking just by seeing the expression on his face, and he could do the same for her. "Nora, where are Jaune and Pyrrha?"

"Oh, they'll be up in a few minutes. They are on their way but I ran back so quick I got here sooner than them. I'm so excited for breakfast. They are walking all slow because they're lazy, tired noodles and refused to accept my challenge! No one ever wants to race me, Ren! I don't understand. I'm a fast runner! Right? Ren, the only person who is willing to race me is Ruby and I don't want to race her! Umm.. Not that she's not fun to race with, don't get me wrong. It's just that she's so fast and I'm obviously destined to lose against her. But Jaune and Py-"

"Nora?" Ren stopped her, finishing up his last pancake and beginning to set the table.

"Yes?" She responds. She was sitting on the island counter in the middle of the kitchen just watching Ren as he moves about the kitchen.

"I think Jaune and Pyrrha are simply tired from their morning exercise."

"Hmm..weaklings." Nora says, but doesn't actually mean it. She has great respect for her team mates, and is quite fond of them. If anyone were to mess with them, she would break their legs. Jaune and Pyrrha are a second family to her (Ren being her first.)

"I don't race you because I know I'll beat you!" Jaune enters the kitchen, kissing his biceps.

"Jaune, if there is any muscle-kissing to be involved, you should perhaps kiss your quadriceps. They are what would help you win a race, not your biceps." Pyrrha chimed in.

"Ah! You're right." Jaune joked and attempted to kiss his calves. Pyrrha sighed.

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Nora stood on the counter she was previously sitting on. Suddenly, she was extremely tall.

"Nora. Please get down from there. It is unsanitary. Plus, we have to eat breakfast before class at 9." Ren advised. It is already 7:05 a.m.

"Yay! Pancakes!" Nora jumps down from the counter. Team JNPR makes their way towards the table full of food.

"Oh man, Ren. This looks so good. Dude you're the best person to have on any team! We don't need none of that garbage from the dining hall.. We've got chef Ren here!" Jaune was excited to dig in. He placed a bunch of food on his plate.

Nora, of course, put nothing but pancakes on her plate and continued to drown it in syrup. Ren had replaced the syrup with healthy, sugar-free lite syrup. He watched her carefully to see if she would notice.

As she grabbed her first pancake, she excitedly shoved the whole thing into her mouth and began chewing. After she swallowed her bite, she stopped and stared at Ren.

Ren quickly looked down as his plate of food and acted as though he wasn't staring at her. He could feel her eyes on him as the room fell silent. Pyrrha and Jaune, however, were silent because they were enjoying their meals. They didn't notice Nora glaring at her best friend.

Before he knew it, Ren was on the ground after Nora took Magnhild to the right side of his body. Ren, once again, was on the floor. This time, in a bit more pain than he was earlier. Jaune and Pyrrha look up at Nora, alarmed.

" **WHO** ARE YOU...AND _WHAT_ THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO REN!" Nora demanded, rather than asked.

"Wh...Nora...it is just me." To Ren, this felt a little like deja vu from this morning.

"Don't you fucking lie!" Nora responded, holding Magnhild up higher over her head. At this point, Ren knew she wasn't just joking. A slight hint of fear threatened his body. Nora doesn't often curse, but when she does, it isn't good- she must actually think someone is pretending to be her best friend! "First you wake me up this morning? You were playing around? And now this?! I knew something was suspicious. Where is Ren? Who are you?"

Jaune jumps out of his seat. "Nora! What are you doing to him? No one took over Ren's body! It's really him!" Jaune vouched for the dark-haired man, despite not actually knowing whether or not the real Ren was consumed by a dark creature.

"Nora, why are you behaving this way?" Ren adds.

"Oh really? Because I know Ren. And Ren would **never** do this. Do you see this?!" Nora grabs a pancake with one hand, "THIS is an embarrassment! These phony creations are NOTHING compared to Ren's amazing pancakes. You're a fake, pretending to be Ren! You can't master his amazing pancakes!" Nora throws the pancake at his face with a _plop,_ and quickly goes back to holding Magnhild. This time, she holds the hammer higher over her head, threatening to hit him. Just then, Pyrrha steps in with her polarity and stops Nora from attacking Ren. It is difficult to take control over Magnhild since it is not made completely out of metal, but she is trying to save her teammate from being crushed by his best friend.

"Listen, Nora. We must be reasonable. Maybe Ren used a different recipe for his pancakes? Why don't you give him the opportunity to explain himself?" Pyrrha tries. She grunts a little.. Magnhild is _extremely_ heavy.

"Fine," Nora grumbles. "Tell me something only Ren would know."

"Um… You're… You're queen of the castle." Ren mustered.

Bad idea…

"NO! EVERYONE KNOWS THIS! YOU PHONY!" Nora shouted once again, and began whacking Ren's chest with her hands since she was no longer able to move Magnhild. "You lie!"

"Nora? Nora!" Ren tried to gain her attention. He wasn't sure if this would work, but it was worth a shot.

"What? You have one more chance before I crush you."

With this, Ren smiled, looking up at Nora. He pressed his finger to her nose.

"Boop."


	2. ANOTHER MORNING YAY

Morning #2!

The JNPR dorm room was dark and silent. All that could be heard were the sleeping residents of the room.

Pyrrha sighs in her sleep, looking as beautiful and graceful as she does while awake. Wrapped under the covers with her head resting on her hands that were closed together on her pillow, and her back towards the wall, she looked like an angel. Red hair, long and flowing. Though she is beautiful, her hair was messy and all over her face. For once, it was not in a ponytail and surrounded by her headpiece. The golden metal could be found next to her on her nightstand.

Jaune can be seen in his bunny onesie, with a light snore every now and again. His hair is sticking up and his feet are hanging off of the bed. He is every bit as dorky and adorable as he is while awake. He sleeps on his stomach with his head turned toward Pyrrha and his arms under the pillow to raise his head even higher.

Nora on the next bed is also sleeping on her stomach, and has managed to get her head under her own pillow. She did this often, and how she does not suffocate herself is beyond everyone. She dislikes the pillows provided, saying that they raise her head too high and hurt her neck. She sleeps rather quietly with a few small snores if she ever does lie on her back.

Ren, despite his silent nature, talks and mumbles in his sleep. It is quiet enough to not bother everyone, but in a way it had always helped Nora fall asleep. He lies on his side, facing Nora and had one hand under his face and the other resting on his side. Unlike Pyrrha, he kept his long hair in a ponytail to keep it from becoming too messy. No matter where Nora slept, Ren grew in the habit of facing in her direction when they sleep, just in case something dangerous happened. Of course, that is improbable here at Beacon, but the two grew up together in a dangerous environment therefore the habit was hard to break. With this, he was also a light sleeper when it came to _new_ sounds. Sounds he were already used to wouldn't wake him up.

Ren's small mumbles were always a way for Nora to find out if he had any suppressed emotions. Though he was open with Nora, he still suppressed many emotions. He did not want to depress anyone or become an inconvenience.

She, however, would always find out later that night. She became distressed one night when they were 15 when he mumbled something along the lines of him being "unworthy of happiness." Of course, the next morning Nora had mentioned nothing of it but made sure he had the _best_ damn day.

Tonight however was different. Nora woke up groggily at 4am and zombie-walked to the bathroom. When she came out, she heard a whimper. This made her perk up a bit, suddenly concerned. She moved over towards Ren's bed and kneeled next to it, gently placing her hand on his arm.

"Leave her alone." mumbled Ren.

"Leave who alone?" Nora asked out loud. This was an obvious accident, for she placed her other hand over her mouth and her eyes grew wide. She didn't want to wake him.

"Yang." Ren mumbled. Suddenly, Nora's eyebrow cocked up in curiosity. Not only because he responded, but he is dreaming of _Yang_?

"Is Yang okay?" Nora whispered towards Ren, suddenly wondering if he is capable of conversation.

"No.." Ren mumbled. Nora's eyebrows furrowed together and was going to respond until Ren started, "Nora ..leave her alone."

With a small gasp, Nora almost didn't know what to say.

"Why _should i_ leave her alone? Hmm" She says to the sleeping boy.

"Stop ..taking.. Yang's cake…."

Nora suddenly grinned, stifling many small giggles. Her face was pink. She was ready to get back up until she heard another mumble.

"So cute." Ren said in a low voice, out of nowhere. Nora saw Ren's lips become a smile.

"Who?" Nora responded.

"The strong one.."

 _Gee Ren, between me and Yang? That sure narrows it down…._

"...Which ..one?" Nora tried, unsure for how long she should keep this up. "Me?" Nora grinned, however she suddenly felt a tad guilty, exploiting his sleeping habit just to find out who he thinks is cute.

Ren's responses were inaudible mumbles, causing Nora to slightly give up. Maybe she'll ask him about it when they would _both_ be awake, later. She got up and turned around to get into bed, until...

"Nora" she heard. Her heart skipped a beat as she froze, one leg already on the bed and one hand lifting her blanket. "Nora." she heard again. She unfroze and slowly turned back around, looking at her 'sleeping' partner.

"Yes, Ren?" Nora whispered, looking into his closed eyes.

"Please stop trying to talk to me while I sleep." Ren responds, clearly. Nora's blush became the same shade as Pyrrha's hair.

"Uhh..I uh….was worried.." Nora stuttered, whispering to Ren, his eyes still closed.

"Go back to bed, sloth." Ren smiled and turned over. Nora smiled in response and crawled back into bed, her head under her pillow.

 **:)**

Few hours later, everyone woke up together at 8am. This was _extremely_ rare, for usually it was Pyrrha who woke up first at 5:00am. She would get changed and wake up Jaune at 5:30am to go running. Ren wakes up at 6:10am, where he will proceed to wake Nora around 6:30am. They would all then meet up for breakfast at 7:00am.

Even on weekends the four don't wake up together at 8am. It is more likely that they sleep in until 11am (with Nora sleeping in until 2pm if Ren let it happen.)

There was a reason for this: a loud, horrified scream came from down the hall. It was an unfamiliar sound, but definitely sounded like it came from team RWBY's room. Ren was the first to react with his reflexes. He jumped out of bed, snatching Stormflower, and protectively hovered his arms over a sleeping Nora while still blinking sleep away from his eyes. This was almost instinct to him. Pyrrha was just starting to sit up, rubbing her eyes, while Jaune was still fast asleep. Nora was stirring in her bed beneath him, the clicks of Stormflower pulling her from sleep. She _could_ be a heavy sleeper, but the clicks of Ren's weapon could pull her from her sleep any day. It meant danger.

Suddenly, Nora jumped out of bed and threw herself towards Magnhild. "WHO'S THERE?!"

"No one." Ren responds, dropping his arms to his sides. No point in protecting an empty bed.

Nora's loud voice was enough to wake Jaune, who groggily spoke, "Is it time for class?" Pyrrha responds to him by shaking her head, to which Jaune proceeded to drop his head on his pillow with a _plop._ Seems like he forgot it's Saturday.

Nora was confused. "Then why did you look like you were ready to kick some major arse, Ren?" she asked. She slowly put Magnhild back down and sat back on her bed.

"I heard a strange noise coming from team RWBY's dorm."

"I did, too." Pyrrha added.

"MY FRIENDS!?" Nora exclaimed. She got up and was just about ready to run out of the dorm room when Ren grabbed the back of her shirt, _yoinking_ her back towards him.

"Ahem." Ren motioned to her. She had a habit of falling asleep with just a shirt and her undies. The rest of team JNPR didn't really care at this point: if girls can wear bikinis what's so different about them sleeping in their undies? Though, Ren knew Nora would be embarrassed had there been some random enemy or rude boy _(Cardin)_ out there to catch her like that.

"Oh, right!" Nora shouted, throwing on some shorts. Pyrrha giggled and stood up, ready to follow along behind them.

When Nora banged on the dorm door across the hall, the trio took a step back when they heard a crash and another scream.

"IF YOU GUYS DON'T OPEN THIS DOOR IN 4.5829 SECONDS, I WILL BLOW IT DOWN WITH MY GRENADE LAUNCHER OR SO HELP ME DUST-" Nora started, powering up her weapon. Instantly, Yang opened the door with a large smile on her face, scratching the back of her head.

"Oh! Uhh, hey guys! Everythings cool! It's all good. Heh heh" her cheeks were pink while she looked a bit sweaty and embarrassed. She looked into the room and back out into the hall.

"We heard an unfamiliar scream." Ren started.

"Oh! That! Right...heh heh, yeah that was just Blake screaming you see uh we uh.." Yang said, but looked rather distracted. As she spoke with them, she constantly kept glancing back into her dorm room. "It's all good!"

"Jeez Why are you so worked up?! And sweaty, are you okay? Do i have to kick butt?" Nora interrogated while trying to peer into the dorm room. Yang closed the door just a little bit more to stop a curious Nora from peeking into the room.

" _Nora!_ " Ren hissed, placing a hand on her head to keep her still. He suddenly felt extremely embarrassed. He had no idea Yang and Blake were-

"Is that...fire?" Pyrrha asked, sniffing the air.

"FIRE? HA HA HA...You're so funny, Pyrrha...you should be called _Pyrro_ instead...pfft, thinking about fire, you silly thing you…" Yang blushed even more, acting extremely suspicious.

"OH MY GOSH REN SHES GONNA EAT BLAKE!" Nora shouted, assuming Yang must have thrown Blake into the fire.

"Nora!" Ren hissed again, facepalming and blushing. Her words could have definitely been taken in another direction. Yang started cracking up.

"Oh Nora have I ever told you how much I loved ya?" Yang wiped away a tear.

"No, but Ren thinks you're cute!" Nora teased.

"Oooo really?" Yang said, leaning against the doorframe and opening the door a little wider now to jokingly show off her body (Which was, by the way, covered in ….what is that? Is that food? Paint?)

"What? Ugh" Ren said, facepalming _again_. It was amusing to see Ren so embarrassed..

Suddenly, a familiar squeak _(Ruby)_ came from inside. "You **idiot**!" Shouted Weiss, responding to the squeak.

"Listen, hey, uh, I gotta go. We have some uh...team RWBY-ish stuff to do...yeah, gotta go, bye guys!" Yang said, suddenly slamming the door shut. Nora flinched at the loud door slam and Pyrrha was nonchalantly resting her back against the wall, standing next to the JNPR dorm door. She had given up on her curiosity long ago, assuming it was just more RWBY shenanigans.

Ren, still blushing a bit, sighed and retreated back to their dorm. He put Stormflower away and sat on his bed. Pyrrha entered next and began making her bed.

"Nora?" Ren called out after he noticed Nora didn't follow behind Pyrrha.

 _No Response._

"You better not be trying to blow that door down!" Pyrrha said, giggling and fluffing out her pillow.

"Or eavesdropping." Ren added. With that, he heard Nora's feet shuffle and run back into the JNPR room, closing the door.

"I wonder what they're doing in there. It sounds like fun. And without me! I'm so hurt!" Nora cried, feigning offense. She put away Magnhild and flopped on Jaune's bed.

"AHH-Wha!?" Jaune exclaimed in confusion. Pyrrha giggled.

"Jaune!" Nora started, now jumping on his bed, "I need you to find out what team RWBY is up to!"

"Why….is...that...my...job!" Jaune replied, in between jumps. He could probably feel his insides turn into a giant milkshake.

"BECAUSE THEY ARE DOING THINGS AND I'M FEELING LEFT OUT! WHY CAN'T WE CAUSE TROUBLE TOO?" she wailed.

"Pyrrha….help….me.." Jaune managed to say.

"Sorry, Jaune. Your bed was the one Nora was destined to jump on at this very moment. I can't change destiny." Pyrrha said, falling into fits of giggles.

"Ren!" Jaune exclaimed, "Stop her! Im having awful 7-evil-sisters-flashbacks!"

"Nora?" Ren asked from across the room. Nora's jumping ceased, but she still stood on Jaune's bed.

"Yes?"

"The answer to your question last night wasn't Yang. It was you. I was already awake by that time." Ren stated. Nora fell, backwards, off Jaune's bed and landed in the space between his and Pyrrha's bed, her head on Pyrrha's feet. Nora was bearing a grin.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Pyrrha asked, looking down at the girl on her feet. With a blush and large grin, Nora simply nods.

Jaune, finally out of his bed, grabbed his clothes and got ready in the bathroom. Neither Pyrrha nor Jaune knew what Ren was referring to, but they didn't really think it mattered. At least it calmed Nora down for a bit.

When the leader of team JNPR came out of the bathroom, he was ready for the day.

"I'll go find out what they're up to." Jaune said, heading out the door.

"Oooo!" Nora exclaimed, hopping back on her feet and running after Jaune again. Standing in the hallway, Jaune knocked on the door. Nora caught up with him and stood next to the taller boy. Jaune towers over Nora, he was even taller than Ren! He was a whole foot taller than her! _More than a foot!-_

"Yes?" Weiss asked, opening the door. "Ugh." She added, seeing that it was Jaune.

"Hey! Rude!" Jaune said defensively.

"May I help you two?"

"I heard shenanigans going on and we are here to investigate!" Nora exclaimed.

"Sorry. No can do." Weiss responded, moving to close the door. Nora stuck her foot in the crack to prevent that from happening.

"HEY…..I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING FOR THE SAFETY OF _YOUR_ TEAM AND FOR THE SAFETY OF _MY_ TEAM!" Nora exclaimed.

"Uh..?... _your_ tea-" Jaune was going to ask Nora, a finger raised in the air. He was cut off by Weiss's response.

"YOUR TEAM IS SAFE, DON'T WORRY!" Weiss responded to Nora, attempting to match her volume. "Go back to your dorm, please." Weiss closed the door. Nora sighed, defeated, and walked back to the JNPR dorm and closed the door.

Clearly she felt too defeated to realize that she closed the door on Jaune. Pyrrha laughed, again, and soon realized Jaune didn't make any attempts to enter the room. Instead, the three heard more noise from the hallway:

 _Knock knock knock._

 _Door opening._

 _Yes?_

 _Hey Weiss. Can I at least come in?_

 _Fine._

 _Pause._

 _Door shut._

"WHAAAAAAT!" Nora exclaimed.

"I'm sure there is a reason for it." Ren added.

"How can you be sO CALM?!" Nora asked.

"I am tranquil by nature." Ren responded with a smile, closing his eyes. Nora rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I'll go find out what's going on for you. Okay?" Pyrrha consoled. When did she get dressed so quickly? Nora shrugged.

"Okay. Please let me know what they're up to!"

"No problem!" Pyrrha said. With that, she left the JNPR dorm, closing the door behind her.

 _Knock knock knock._

 _Not no-oh! Hey Pyrrha~_

 _Hello again! May I come in, Ruby?_

 _Sure!_

 _Pause._

 _Door closes._

"I can't believe how easy that was for her." Nora sighed, lying on the floor. She stared up at the ceiling in confusion.

Ren made his way around the room, stepping over her. He was getting ready for the day as well. "Nora, what are your plans for the day?" Ren asks while getting dressed. He was trying to distract her from this morning's events.

"Nothing….no fun...no shenanigans….just a downward spiral of boredom…...sadness….despair…."

"Calm down, Edgar Allan Poe." Ren teased.

"I have no friends….no family…...no fun…" Nora continued, staring sadly at the ceiling. Ren walked over to her and looked down at the girl splayed on the floor and crossed his arms. She was literally turning gray.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes!" Nora cried dramatically, "and Pyrrha isn't back yet! Her and Jaune are hogging up all of the fun shenanigans!" Ren shook his head at his soap-opera sloth of a friend.

"I'll be back, Nora. Here." Ren said, and handed her a toy sloth.

"OHMIGOSH! Where did you get this?!" Nora exclaimed, now sitting up.

"I got it for you." Ren smiled and walked out of the door.

"Wait! REN….." Nora shouted behind him, only to hear him enter team RWBY's room. Nora's face fell. All her friends left her to go hang out with team RWBY and she was sitting here, alone, and bored. Why did they just let them in so easily like that? Why didn't they let them in when they were all in the the hall together?

The girl sighed and rolled over on the floor, staring at the toy sloth Ren randomly gave her. " _Why did he even get this for me ?"_ she asked herself. It was a bit odd of him. " _Does he like me back? Is that why?"_ she grinned.

Minutes passed by and Nora sighed, got up, and got dressed for the day. It was now 9am and she was _starving_. She exited the JNPR dorm room and stared at the door across the hall. It was rather quiet, now.

Nora decided to try one more time.

 _Knock knock knock._

.. …. ….. …

 _No answer._

… _.._

 _Knock knock knock._

"Hello?" Nora called out. Still no answer. She sighed, frustrated. She turned the doorknob and to her surprise, the door was open! Maybe they forgot to lock it?

She walked inside to find everything completely dark and quiet. _Maybe everyone left and i didn't even hear them exit the dorm? But then again, they wouldn't just leave the door unlocked._ Nora thought.

She walked into team Rwby's kitchenette and suddenly everyone jumped and yelled,

"SURPRISE!"

 _(Pause)_

"Wh..at..?" Nora asked, confused. There was batter _everywhere_ , Blake was covered in soot, Ruby was lying on the ground on a large pile of cookies, Yang had her fist in a turkey, and Ren was cooking pancakes while Jaune, Pyrrha and Weiss sat at the table. "What is happening?" Nora laughed.

"Happy Birthday, Nora~" Ruby called from the floor across the kitchenette.

"It's not my birthday?" Nora responded..

"Nora it **is** your birthday." Ren corrected.

"It is literally _not_ my birthday."

"Nora," Ren sighed. "If you are going to argue me on this, then why don't _you_ just keep track of your own days? Look at your scroll." He said, flipping another pancake.

"...Ooohhhhhhhhhhhh…" Nora said, her mouth shaped like an O. "Hm. Well, this just proves that I _can_ rely on you to be a calendar!" Nora laughed while Ren shook his head.

A few silent moments later, Nora finally understood what was happening. "Oh..OH MY GOSH GUYS IS THIS ALL FOR ME?!" Nora motioned at the incredibly messy and chaotic kitchen.

"It..was kinda, sorta, supposed to be.. yeah-" Yang said, trying and failing to remove the turkey from her fist. Blake was helping her by pulling at it.

"ITS PERFECT I LOVE IT SO MUCH YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST FRIENDS EVER THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL I'VE NEVER HAD ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE I'M SO HAPPY LOOK AT HOW CUTE THIS IS!" Nora exclaimed, pointing to a messy floor with batter; it was heart-shaped! "AND THIS AND THIS, AND THIS! THESE THINGS ARE SO AWESOME. AND YANG, _LOVE_ THE ACCESSORY. SO YOU!"

Nora seemed to like this "surprise." This is good news for team RWBY, because they have been awake since 5 in the morning attempting and failing at baking a cake…. 4 times now.

Everyone in the kitchen watched Nora in silence as she squealed away at her own "surprise" party, while Ren grinned at the girl. This was the first time anyone has ever attempted to throw her a surprise birthday party like she always wanted. Though it was messy and they all worried she won't like it, to their surprise, she absolutely **loved** every bit of it.

* * *

 **Okay, so I didn't originally plan on adding a second "morning" to this haha but I thought it would be cute and fun. Like... What _would_ everyone do for Nora's birthday? Lol I love that she argued with Ren about whether it was even her own birthday or not... xD **

**:D Thanks for reading~**


	3. We were surrounded by UrSIIII!

"Nora?" Ren spoke softly, poking Nora's shoulder. It was 4:30pm, and she was still in bed. At this point, it was rather odd. He knew she could sleep in, but 4:30pm was rather _excessive_ for her. ..And she's the **queen** of excessiveness.

"Hmm." The girl groaned, her face buried beneath a pillow. Ren noted how her response was not sleepy at all: She has been awake. Possibly for a while, now.

"Are you getting out of bed today?" He said light-heartedly, still poking her shoulder a few more times. Nora responded by shaking her head 'no,' and further buried herself into more blankets.

"Won't you join me for pancakes? He asked, knowing that this would instantly perk her up and get her out of bed. Yet again, she shook her head 'no.' She pulled her blankets further up, also covering the pillow on her head. Her body and face were entirely covered.

Ren visibly frowned, accompanied with understanding eyes. Nora was not like this as often as she used to be, but some days were still harder for her than others. She couldn't even get out of bed at times. This was one of those times.

"Is there anything I could do for you?" Ren asks. He begins subconsciously rubbing her back through the blanket with his hand while he sat on the bed next to her, staring at the pillow which covered her face. Nora didn't respond. "Maybe we could talk?" he brought up, only to receive an aggressive head-shaking 'no!' "...Or I give you some space and leave you alone?" he offered again. Nora shook her head 'no' once more.

"I see." Ren mumbles.

… _..pause…._

Alas, an idea!

He gets up, lifts her blankets, and sits himself next to Nora underneath it. He pulls the blankets over their heads and with one swift movement, it was pitch black. Thanks to Ren's sitting-position, Nora's bed looked like a tent.

Nora finally lifted her head and looked quizzically in the direction of where she thought Ren's face would be. "I made a fort." Ren answers, as if knowing she was giving him the look of confusion. It was too dark for either of them to see.

"Oh." Nora responds, a small smile slowly creeping on her lips. She was now lying sideways, propped up on her right elbow, and staring at Ren through the darkness.

"I think we are gonna need flashlights if we ever want to see again, don't we?"

"Maybe." Nora speaks with a small voice.

"But what if we were surrounded by Grimm? We can't see." He continues.

"Well...I guess I'm dead then.." Nora shrugs casually. Ren scowls at her, despite knowing they can't see each other.

"But **Nora**!" Ren gasps, feigning drama. This was a very different side of Ren that no one else really had the pleasure of seeing. "There are _dozens_ of _ursi_ out there!"

"Oh?" The girl grins, now feeling amused. He could hear the smile on her face.

"Yeah. How convenient, because our Ursa skin rug shop is about to go out of business!"

Nora now hopped up into a sitting position next to Ren, "Not today! We've just received fulllllllllll inventory!"

He didn't even have to look at her to know she was probably bearing a slightly-maniacal looking grin. He could already hear it in her tone of voice. He was happy he was able to take her mind off of what ever was bothering her, if only for a minute.

* * *

 **Short and sweet. I thought it was cute. c:**


	4. Lie Ren

**This is my very first time writing in second-person point of view. Let me know how it is!? Did you like it, or should I just always stick to third person?**

* * *

Lie Ren

* * *

First, it is dark. Nothing but darkness. Then, you suddenly hear a noise. It starts off as a deep hiss from a few feet away, and then you hear a loud growl. You definitely recognize these sounds… you have fought against them one too many times in the past.

But, this time, you are unable to move. You just can't. You are lying down flat on your back and your entire body is numb. The air around you is freezing, and you want to shiver. Your eyes are wide open and you want to scream but nothing comes out. Even your mouth is numb, everything about you is **numb** … almost as if someone put your body to sleep for surgery, but your brain is still awake.

Evil stands over you. The beowolf, breathing heavily over you, mouth drooling and teeth bared, ready to kill its prey… you. Your eyes, instead, are following the king taijitu that is slithering a couple feet away…. towards your unsuspecting best friend. She is unconscious. Why?

You want to scream again because she doesn't move. You feel the urge in your throat, even in your chest. The noise just won't come out. At this point, you can't tell if your blood is boiling with rage or fear. Most likely the latter.

It's hovering over her now, and your heart is racing. You wish you could close your eyes so that you don't have to watch this, but you can't. You can't even breathe at this point. You don't remember the last time you freaked out this badly. She's going to die! And you're just going to watch! How come she's unconscious? She doesn't even hear it.

In fact…

 _She's just sleeping in her bed.._

 _Wait a minute._

That is when you realize… this is not just some creepy dark room full of grimm. This is not just _any_ place. This is your dorm room.

Utterly confused, you find yourself asking ' _why the hell there are grimm in the dorm room?!'_ , right before the beowolf slashed you across the face with its claws. That's when everything went black.

...For only a second. You jump up with a loud gasp, now sitting upright on your bed. A groan escapes your lips when the dizziness from sitting up so suddenly affects your head negatively. Your hands are shaking, but at least you can feel them this time. The same can be said about your legs: They move!

Your heart is beating so fast and hard, you begin to debate whether or not it is possible for a fit 17 year old such as yourself to get a heart attack. _Is it? Hm._ You don't exactly know, but you're fucking nervous.

"Sleep paralysis.." You mutter under your breath. You know your sleeping teammates won't hear it, but you are definitely still annoyed. This has happened to you quite often in the past. It's annoying because no matter _how_ many times it happens to you… you get freaked out... every. single. time. Each experience feels even more real than the last. When the hell will it stop?

Knowing you won't be able to sleep or even calm down anytime soon, you scoot out of bed and grab your scroll to check the time. Maybe you could busy yourself. _2:48 a.m. Only?_ You kind of hoped it was closer to 5 a.m or something so that it wouldn't be so bad if you stayed up the rest of the night. There goes _that_ plan.

With a sigh, you look down at the bed next to yours. _She's safe._ Your night terror, sleep paralysis, thing… whatever… it was wrong, and she is okay. Jaune and Pyrrha are okay.

Your _bestest_ friend. She looks so peaceful sleeping there. The urge to just stroke the back of your hand across her cheek overcomes you. Thankfully, this did not wake her from her slumber. Her face was just as soft as you expected it to be.

You watch as her breathing is slow and her eyebrows furrow to whatever dream she is having. You hope she is having a good dream; _she doesn't deserve any less._ With all the shit she had to deal with in her life, including a destroyed childhood, it is a mystery to you how she could still be so sweet, bubbly, and kind.

A small grin escapes your lips because then you remember: it's _Nora Valkyrie._ It's who she is, who she always has been. She unleashes her true anger on the battlefield, if necessary.

Nearly 5 minutes have passed until you decide what you are going to do with yourself for the rest of the night. Carefully, you lean forward and place your hand on her shoulder. She doesn't react, so you shake it lightly.

"Mmm?" She groans. You can see her peek at you with one eye open. Guilt is creeping over you for waking her up for such a silly reason, but it will help you feel better.

"May I join you?" You whisper. You aren't sure how else to phrase the question without sounding like a lost puppy. You don't want to sound like a scared child or a pitiful friend with bad dreams: just someone who would like to sleep closer to his best friend. Because that's what you want. _Damn pride._

"Mmmh...Of course, Ren." Nora mumbles, her lips forming a small smile while her head full of messy, orange hair lifts itself off the pillow. You're surprised her head was _on_ the pillow and not _under_ it this time. She rolls to the side and attempts to pull back her blanket to make way for you. Obviously, she is too sleepy to realize that she didn't actually pull much blanket away. Heck, even her eyes are closed again.

With a chuckle, you lift her blanket and place yourself on the bed underneath it. You lie down and find yourself staring back up at the ceiling again. Only this time, you have Nora by your side. You are calm again. Ready to sleep, even.

Her head treats your left arm as though it were a pillow, and you can't help but grin.

You've decided that what you two have is precious.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading. I hope you liked it. :)**


	5. Creys

"Reeennnnnnnn!" Nora cried from the bathroom.

Ren, who was lying on his bed reading a book, sighed as he put the book down and stood up.

"Reennnnn!" Nora called out again, being impatient.

The dark haired teen didn't respond to her, but he was making his way towards the open bathroom door.

"Yes, Nora?" He asked, looking at her through the mirror. Nora pouted, while pointing at her pink hairbrush.

It was stuck.

In her hair.

"How on Remnant did you manage to do that?" He asked, walking up behind her and observing the hairbrush. She simply groaned. "See? This is why you must brush your hair _more_ than once a week." He lectured, attempting to untangle the mess before him.

"Ughhh. I hate it. I tried to brush my hair and when I got to the back..it tangled! It got stuck! And now I can't see what I'm doing and I kept trying to untangle it but I probably made it worse! How annoying! _This_ is why I keep my hair short! I mean, sheeeesh… It's _already_ short and it _still_ gives me problems! I don't know how Pyrrha handles this. Or Weiss… or Yang.. or Blake!" Nora exclaimed. Ren smirked, knowing she was forgetting someone. "Or _you_! Ren! How do you deal with long hair?! I can't! Nuh uh."

"I brush it every day… and use conditioner." Ren said before accidentally pulling the brush too hard, slightly yanking her head sideways. "I'm sorry, Nora."

"Owww! Ren!" Nora cried. "You hurt me!" She glared at him through the mirror, crossing her arms like an angry child.

"I already apologized." He reminded her.

"Maybe Pyrrha can do better!" Nora challenged. "PYRRRRHHHAAAAAAAAAAA!" Nora screamed horrifically. Ren let go of Nora's head to cover both of his ears. You'd think he would be used to her random loudness by now.

"Nora!" Ren hissed, "You _do_ realize Pyrrha is not in the dorm, correct?"

"I know. That's why I had to yell, duhhh!~" Nora sang the last word to her sentence, wearing a prideful smile.

"But she won't hear you, she is in the **courtyard**."

"Yes she will!~"

"No she won't."

The two bickered for a few minutes, until the dorm door flew open. Nora and Ren quickly turned around to see who entered the room.

"Did you call me? Are you okay, Nora?" Pyrrha asked quickly, her weapon at hand.

"Oh yay! You're here!" Nora smiled wide. Ren's eyes squinted while his eyebrows rose in confusion.

"How the- What?" Ren asked.

"PYRRHA!" Nora exclaimed, interrupting her best friend. "Ren hurt me!" Nora whined, pouting out her lip and giving Pyrrha the best puppy dog eyes she could possibly muster. She resembled a small child tattle taleing on a classmate. Sensing no danger, Pyrrha calmly put away Miló and Akoúo̱.

"What?" Pyrrha gasped, looking at Ren. "What did you do!" The redheaded teen asked, making her way to the bathroom to console Nora. Nora stuck her tongue out at Ren.

"I did no such thing." Ren defended while crossing his arms. "She is overreacting."

"Oh! He's invalidating my feelings! Pyrrha, it hurts!" Nora whined dramatically, placing the back of her hand to her forehead. Pyrrha smirked and whacked Ren on the shoulder.

"Hey." He protested.

"There. Better?" Pyrrha asked Nora. This exchange was amusing to her, so why not entertain her teammates for a while?

"Yes!" Nora beamed. "Can you help me with my hair, please?" Nora asked, pointing to her hair. Pyrrha giggled.

"Sure, Nora."

Ren shrugged his shoulders and walked towards his bed, leaving the girls to work on Nora's mission of a hair. Going back to his book, he couldn't help but smile. Nora was so silly sometimes.

* * *

 **In which Pyrrha Nikos is momma bear.**

 **hahaha. A short little something...**

 **I may or may not have an extremely long and fluffy chapter coming up sometime... ;)**


	6. Bun

**There is a _small_ bit of OC in this. I hope you guys don't mind (I'm sure you won't, it's sweet and only for this one chapter haha)**

* * *

 **(time-skip in this chapter! welcome to the future!)**

* * *

She tread slowly across the bedroom, from the bathroom in the hallway, back towards her bed. It is 3:35AM and Nora Valkyrie is _still_ awake. Everyone in the cabin-like home was asleep **except** for her!

' _Why. Can't. I. SLEEP?!'_ Nora thought to herself. Her brain won't stop harassing her.

She made her way towards the other side of the bed and lied down, where a sleepy Lie Ren rolled over and grumbled as he acknowledged her weight on their full-sized bed. The redheaded girl simply smiled, stifling laughter at her boyfriend. Tomorrow marks seven months since they have officially gotten _together-together_!

' _Could that be why I can't sleep? I don't see why, it's only 7 months. Not that it isn't a big deal or anything, it's tottalllyy awesome and a great big deal! But it's not like...a year! Or 50 years! So why can't I sleep?'_ The 22 year old began to question her sanity.

Eventually, she fell asleep at 5AM and woke up for the day at 11AM.

* * *

That morning, Ren had woken up at 7AM to shower and prepare for the day. While in the bathroom, he realized something was a bit _off_... but decided that it didn't exactly matter _yet._ He needed to start breakfast before everyone woke up.

He and Nora shared a home with Jaune and his 16 year old sister, Amelia, who decided to join the three. She wanted to train to become a huntress one day, and planned on attending Beacon next year. Though the school was _still_ facing repairs/defense upgrades, classes still continued. Jaune also has an older sister who lives with them (she owns the house, it used to belong to the Arc family back when they only had 5 kids. They never sold it when they moved out into a bigger home.) Though Elise is a huntress and is out on missions quite often, she can be seen hanging out in her sister's room or in the recreational room while home.

The home is quite roomy, made of wood and has 5 bedrooms. Jaune had offered Ren and Nora to live with him here, knowing that the two had no place to go after Beacon. They gratefully accepted.

Ren made his way down the steps carefully and towards the kitchen to prepare a nice breakfast for the 5 of them. It was an eggs, omelets, pancakes, bacon, and waffles kind of morning.

When 8AM came around, Jaune and his older sister were ready for the day and arrived in the kitchen to eat with Ren. This was also the time Nora should be waking up.

9AM came around and no sign of Nora.

Jaune's younger sister made an appearance at the breakfast table at 9:30AM.

At 10AM, Elise was dressed and on her way out the door to go on her next mission.

Ren decided _against_ cleaning the kitchen, just in case Nora woke up and still wanted breakfast. He instead sat at the dining table and read articles on his scroll. He had also been scrolling through a list of jobs and missions Ozpin provided him. Whenever ready, he could accept any job at any time he wanted.

"Hey, Jaune?" Ren called from the table. Jaune was about 30 feet away, sitting on the sofa. The distance between the living room and the kitchen was not very far, and there were no actual separations. It was practically one enormous room.

"Yeah?" The blonde shouts in response.

"Have you checked the missions board lately?"

"Oh! Yeah! I actually accepted a mission yesterday. I leave in two days."

"By yourself?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow. Despite the beginning of their years, Jaune became an incredible fighter with powerful aura skills. However, Ren knew he did not like to travel alone.

"Nah, Ruby and Blake are also joining me. We should only be gone for about 3 weeks."

"Why didn't you ask me and Nora?"

"I don't want my baby sister to be here all by herself!" Jaune smirked and rubbed Amelia's head with his knuckles, who retaliated by fighting him off and punching his arm.

Ren let out a chuckle and put down his scroll. He and Nora only accepted one mission ever since they left Beacon three months ago, and it was about time they try again.

 _Well, speak of the devil._

Nora can _finally_ be seen groggily making her way down the stairs.

"Good morning." Ren smiled softly at his girlfriend as she made her way into the kitchen and glanced over at the food.

"..Grrrhhmhhm…." Ren couldn't tell if her response was a growl, a grumble, or a hum.

"Woke up on the wrong side of the bed today?" Jaune asked with a teasing smile as he entered the kitchen as well. Ren was looking back down at his scroll, and Jaune was making his way towards a seat at the table.

"Shut the fuck up." Nora said rather seriously. The air in the kitchen went still as both Ren and Jaune quickly shot their heads up to look at her.

This was completely unlike her.

"I- I'm ..sorry..?" The blonde was unsure as to what his response really should be. He backs away into the living room and falls back on the couch next to his sister. ' _That was weird,'_ He thought.

Nora stared at the food one last second and simply turned around and sat next to Ren at the table. She groaned as she leaned her head against his right shoulder.

"Uh.. Are you okay?" He whispered to her. She shook her head 'no.' and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"What's wrong? Cramps?" Ren suggested, knowing that the only times Nora was ever really like this was when it was that time of the month. But, to his surprise, she shook her head 'no' again.

"Okay. Why don't you get some breakfast? I made waffles, pancakes, eggs… " Ren trailed off when he saw her gag. "What?"

"Just the _thought_ of those cold eggs...and the _smell._...oh, dust... _ewww…_ " Nora sat up straight and gagged again. She slapped her hands over her mouth and nose, as if trying not to puke right there.

"You don't have to eat those, love." Ren tries to help her feel better by rubbing her back with his free hand while the other still held his scroll.

"I'll just... be right back… " Nora slowly stood up and walked away, leaving a confused Ren sitting at the table. He could see Jaune sitting on the sofa from the other room, turn his head to face Ren and mouth " _What's wrong with her?"_

As a response, Ren shrugged. He didn't know, either.

After a minute had passed, he decided to follow his girlfriend only to find her sitting on the bathroom floor.

"Nora... are you okay? Did you get sick?"

She nodded her head, leaning her back against the sink counter and looking up at the man standing in the doorway.

Ren took her hands to help her stand up and guided her to their bed.

"What have you eaten, Nora?" Ren asked, attempting to recall all of her latest meals. They both ate the same meals all the time, and _he_ wasn't sick. Though she did often eat more snacks than he did, so perhaps it was that. But he always made sure that the snacks in Nora's pantry were not expired, not that they ever had the chance to be. What could have possibly happened?

"Nothing... barely touched food yesterday.. " She muttered while getting into bed. "Ugh it smells like gross eggs all over this house!" Nora exclaimed, almost gagging again.

Ren presented her with a wastebasket while saying, "I don't smell anything up here. We are the furthest room from the kitchen."

"No, I smell it... and it- uggh... ew" Nora gagged again, holding the wastebasket. Ren stood up to open a window for her.

"Maybe you should see a doctor. I can call someone for you?"

"No, I'm sure it will go away." she shrugged.

"Are you sure this isn't a symptom of your menstrual cycle?" Ren asks, while Nora's face scrunched up.

"No, this hasn't happened before."

"I know… but weren't you supposed to get it _last_ week?"

"Was I?"

"Yes, Nora." He chuckled. How does he know her better than herself?

"Huh...cool. might be late...Whatever, that saves me the pain of cramps and all that." Nora giggled, smiling for the first time that day. She made a mental note to ask Yang about it later.

 _ **(Two Weeks Later)**_

11:30AM. Everyone in the house was awake by 8AM today, and they all decided to watch a movie together. Jaune was not home because he was on a mission, but his two sisters were there since Elise returned three days ago. They were great company, and every bit as dorky as their brother.

Yesterday, Ren and Nora finally decided to accept a mission for themselves! They were to depart in two days and it would last them at least three weeks.

"Hey Nora, how you feeling?" Ren asked Nora while she came back from the bathroom… for the third time. It had only been an hour into the movie, and he knew she still got sick at times.

"Oh, I'm fine!" She grinned as she plopped down next to him. "Just had to peeeee~"

"Okay." He responds.

Half an hour later, Nora got up again and made her way to the bathroom. Ren watched her from the corner of his eye with a raised eyebrow. Was she up to something?

"Jeez, what'd she do? Drink 2 gallons of water?" Amelia laughed. Seems like Ren wassn't the only one who noticed.

He decided against saying anything; what is there to do or say to someone who pees often? Nothing, really.

* * *

It was that next morning when it happened. Both Ren and Nora woke up together at 7AM and were getting ready for the day. They had a mission to prepare for!

While Ren stepped into the bathroom to brush his teeth, he _still_ found something odd. The same thing he found two weeks prior. It was a brand new, unopened box of feminine hygiene products. He knew it was not actually _new_ , per se, because _he_ was the one who bought it for her when he went grocery shopping... _3 months ago._

Ren nervously raked his brain for any possible explanation, avoiding the most obvious one. Though, when he stepped outside the bathroom and back into their room, he noticed it.

She was shirtless (still wearing a bra,) and brushing her hair back while singing without a care in the world. She was facing their TV that they had in the room, watching whatever music video was on. Ren had the perfect side-view of her to notice the small bump in her belly. Granted, he _knew_ she wasn't extremely naturally thin, but he also _knew_ what was and wasn't there. This triggered his brain to give up on avoiding the most obvious issue. It was time he faced it, actually.

' _Did she really not know, all this time?'_ He stood there, staring at her stomach with his lips parted just enough.

"Uh..Ren? You okay?" Nora asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. She whacked his shoulder with her pink hairbrush and peered at the strange face he was making. "Its rude to stare, ya know!"

He hadn't noticed that he was staring at her for about 3 minutes now. She didn't notice him there until her song ended.

"Nora.." He said her name cautiously, finally looking up into her eyes. She stared back up at him.

"What?"

"You… _we_... are **not** going on that mission tomorrow." he stated.

"... What?" Nora blinked.

"I'm going to call Ozpin right now and cancel- " Ren started, quickly pulling out his scroll and trying to walk away. Nora had interrupted him.

"Oh, no you don't!" The redhead exclaimed, grabbing his arm and pulling him back to face her. "What the hell, Ren! It's been so long since we last worked together and now that we finally have a job... you wanna _cancel?!_ " Nora argued.

"Nora…" Ren closed his eyes this time. He did not want to fight her.

" _What?_!" Nora responded angrily.

She was never _this_ quick to anger.

"When was... " _How do I even phrase this? Well, here goes…_ "When was the last time you had your period?"

"What does that have to do with anything?!" She exclaimed, offended. He simply stared back at her, waiting for her answer. She finally responded after a moment of glaring. "Alright! I don't know! … I got it the day we graduated from Beacon.." She shrugged, sheepishly folding her arms across her chest. She looked away from him.

"What!" Ren exclaimed, his eyes bulging out of his head. " _ **Nora**_ \- that was a little over **three** months ago!"

"So! What does this have to do with anything?! It's just late, that's **normal**!"

"Who told you _that?_ " Ren shook his head.

"Yang! When my period was a little late I asked her and she told me it's normal."

" _Yang..._ " Ren sighed to himself. "Nora, she was probably talking about a few days, maybe even week or two late as being normal. Now, a few months? That's not normal…"

"Of course it's normal!"

"Nora... do you really not understand..." Ren sighed, rubbing his face with his hands.

"What? So I'm sick?" Nora asked him, folding her arms. She faced the ground and squeeze her eyes shut. That's when Ren realized: Nora was also avoiding the obvious.

"... Or pregnant…" Ren added, his voice trailing off as his line of sight fell to her tummy again. Nora looked at her stomach and back up at him, waving a hand.

"No way!" The redhead blew a raspberry.

"What do you mean, _no way_?"

"Can't be." She shrugged.

"It is most definitely possible. Remember your birthday?" Ren asked, recalling the night that happened a week after graduation.

"Pfft…." Nora blushed, "Of _courrsseeeee_ … but like…" The shorter girl paused and looked away for a moment. She then let out a soft, fake chuckle and crossed her arms, "I can't be, I'm not even ready... "

"That doesn't make you immune."

"But I don't wa-... we are too... I just... " Nora's thoughts bombard her all at once. She's not sure whether she wants to cry or not, because she is still denying the idea. "I _just_ became a huntress... "

"So? You will **always** be a huntress. You just… can't take any missions for the next few months…"

"Yes I can!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Ren smirked, crossing his arms. Nora shook her head.

"I'm not having a baby. I'm **not** pregnant." Nora still shook her head, tears finally falling from her eyes. Ren frowned and wrapped his arms around the redhead, letting her bury her face into his chest.

"The only way to know for sure is to let a doctor see you. We must go." Ren states. Nora nods her head, face still buried against his chest.

* * *

 _ **(Three Weeks Later)**_

For each day Jaune was late from his mission, Nora would cry when he wouldn't show up at the door.

"It's okay, Nora. He is fine." Ren consoled as the pair sat on the sofa together. The TV had been on, but no one was watching. Nora shook her head 'no'. "Yes he is. He has Ruby and Blake with him, too." Ren added.

"That makes it _worse!_ " Nora cried, the possibility of not one but _three_ of her friends being dead was freaking her out. Ren hesitated, and decided against saying anything else.

"Can I do anything for you?" He asks, rubbing the small of her back.

"It's hot in here." Nora groans. "... And I'm hungry."

"Want me to make you a sandwich?"

"Yes please!"

"Alright." Ren smiled and stood up. He made his way to the kitchen while Nora peeled off her sweater and lied down on the sofa. It was hot, she was hungry, tired, and her body hurt. She wasn't even far into the pregnancy, (16 weeks, according to her doctor!), but she already hated it. _At least Ren is here for me…_ Nora smiled as she buried her face into the sofa-pillow.

Minutes later, Ren returned to the living room with a plate in his hand. "Hey Nora, here's y-"

He stopped mid-sentence and chuckled at the sight before him. His best friend, and girlfriend, had fallen asleep. _It's only been a few minutes..._ Ren shook his head and set the plate down on the coffee table in front of Nora.

The front door clicked open, and in walked Jaune. The blonde set his keys on the key rack and shuffled in, looking tired and disheveled. When he looked up, he noticed a sleeping Nora and smiling Ren in the living room in front of him.

"Hey.." Jaune smiled at his best friends.

"Welcome back. How was your mission?" Ren greeted.

"It was...okay. It wasn't bad because none of _us_ got hurt. But... there was a lot of ….collateral damage .." Jaune sighed, shaking his head.

"Don't tell Nora that." Ren mumbled under his breath. She would _probably_ cry at the thought of a broken street lamp.

"How are things here? I expected you two to be out on that mission by now." Jaune asked.

"They were…. " Ren thought to himself for a second. He wanted to wait until Nora woke up before telling him the news. "...Interesting." Thankfully, Jaune didn't notice her small bump yet because she was lying down on the sofa.

"Interesting?" Jaune repeated.

"For example, Nora cried every single day you were late."

"...I was only like… a week or two late..?" Jaune said. Normally, if a mission says it would last at _least_ three weeks, that means it could last anywhere between 1 to 4 months. Maybe more, if they weren't careful. "We were actually really quick!"

"Exactly my point." Ren chuckled. Jaune took a seat in the empty recliner near the sofa.

"Surprised she was worried about me." Jaune muttered, half-kidding.

"Why? You are family." Ren stated honestly. They had all been together for so long, Jaune is definitely a part of their family by now. "Nora cares quite a bit, she just... doesn't know how to say it."

"Except by crying for 8 days straight?" Jaune laughs.

" _Welllll_.. that is another story."

 _ **(3 hours and 4 boxes of mini-donuts later)**_

"I can't leave for four weeks without you getting Nora pregnant?!" Jaune asked, absolutely shocked. Ren shook his head while Nora shrugged. "I mean, uh, congrats guys?"

"It's okay." Ren said. "We need money... So I was thinking, I take up some missions while Nora stays home." He glanced at the girl who was suddenly giving him dagger eyes.

"And leave _me_ alone with her?! Ren! She _cried_ every day I was late from my mission! She will probably cry every day you are _away_ on your mission, no matter how long!" Jaune whined. Nora's dagger eyes went from Ren to Jaune. Nora responded by punching his arm so hard that he fell over. "- _Oof_!"

"You are **not** going anywhere without me!" Nora exclaimed, turning back to Ren and pointing a finger at his chest. She looked pretty mad, but it was extremely cute because she was so short compared to Ren. He couldn't help it… she's just a cute, small, angry pink fluff.

"Sorry, Nora. I would rather work _now_ than do it later, while the baby is here. We need money." Ren had a good point, and Nora remained silent while she searched her brain for a good argument.

"Alright, alright. Sorry! And Nora, you will also have the help of my sisters too if you ever need anything." Jaune smiled while making his way to his feet and dusting himself off. "But please don't eat our entire stock of mini donuts!"

"But I want to go _with_ you, Ren.." Nora pouted, ignoring Jaune and looking up at Ren.

"But you'll endanger that _**bun**_ in your oven!" Jaune grins.

"I will endanger _you._ " Nora glared at the blonde who then dropped his smile and backed away.

* * *

 _ **(One month and 18 boxes of mini donuts later)**_

Ren had left for his mission three days ago. For Nora, each day was harder than the last. Though she was only 20 weeks pregnant, she felt like Ren _had_ to be there for every moment. Deep down, however, she knew that was unreasonable.

"Whatcha doin'?" Jaune, who was standing at the stove, asked. Nora entered the room and sat at the dining table. She had been singing to herself for some time now.

"I'm singing! My baby can hear me! Before Ren left, he used to sing, but now he's not here, so… "

"Oh, that's pretty cool. My mom used to do that when she was pregnant with my little sister." he smiled, spatula in hand. He was amused by her shirt, which read: ' _Loading: 50% complete.'_

"How old were you when she was pregnant with her last kid?" Nora asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Ummm I was about 15, turned 16 when she finally had the thing." Jaune laughed.

" _Whoa!_ So your youngest sister is _six_?! How old are your parents!?" Nora asked, her jaw hitting the floor.

"My mom had Elise at 16, actually… and then she had me at 19! And then my other sister at 22… and the twins at 24… Amelia at 25…. " Jaune trailed off, suddenly grossed out. "But yeah, they're 41 now. No more kids."

"Wow, they got _busy_!" She laughed out loud.

"Can you not."

"More action than all of us put together! And _I_ get A L-"

"I hate my life so much right now." Jaune interrupted, covering his ears.

"Sorry." Nora giggled. Jaune rolled his eyes and went back to cooking pancakes with a side of broccoli, as per Nora's request.

Though they were not as great as Ren's, they would suffice for now.

After an hour of Nora picking at her food pushing it around her plate, Jaune comes back into the kitchen. His hair was still wet and noodly from his shower. "Oh, you're still in here?" He asked. He had expected her to finish her food a long time ago.

When she ignores him, Jaune speaks up again. "You ok?"

Nora sighed as a response.

"Ren will be fine-" Jaune started, but was immediately cut off by a ranting Nora.

"I know, I know. He's with _Yang_ and _Weiss_. But what if he's _not_ gonna be okay?! What if something happens to _all_ of them?! What if he doesn't come home and I have to have the ba-" Nora gasps in horror. "JAUNE! THAT CAN'T HAPPEN! I REFUSE!"

"...But you can't just refuse to give birth? _\- d'oh!_ " Jaune got hit in the face with the pancake Nora threw at him.

"I… " Nora cries. "I felt it move, earlier. When I sang… it felt like.. I had butterflies? And it makes me so sad… I wish Ren were here to know… "

"Nora… it's okay. He will be here in no time! And remember, no matter where he is, the guy loves you!" Jaune said in an attempt to uplift the mood.

"Yeah. You're right." Nora sighs, standing up and disposing of her leftovers. She placed her dish in the sink.

"Oh! Uh, I got it!" Jaune says, heading towards the sink.

"It's okay, Jaune. I can wash my own dishes. It's just a baby."

"No no I'll do it"

"If you insist." Nora shrugged and made her way back upstairs towards her bedroom.

The bed was not made and her used socks were everywhere. _I miss Ren. Even if I pretend he's still here, it's impossible. If he were here, everything would be nice and tidy. His pancakes would be in my tummy and his voice would sing to the baby. But he's not here..I'm not ready.._

* * *

A month went by. And then another. Suddenly, a total of three months went by. At this point, Nora was freaking out every single day. Jaune and his sisters tried their hardest to keep her stress-free, but it became much too difficult. At 32 weeks pregnant, Nora was _nearly_ too big to do certain things, such as stand up quickly or effortlessly tie her shoes. Though the help of the Arc siblings were nice, she wanted her Ren. No one else.

* * *

One evening, Lie Ren twisted open the doorknob and entered the home. It was 9:48pm. Instantly, he froze at the sight in front of him. Nora was sleeping on the sofa, while Jaune's younger sister Amelia was asleep on the recliner next to her. Ren stood there in awe.

He _almost_ didn't recognize her. Of course, her belly grew since the last time he had seen her... but he could never mistaken that beautiful face.

"Nora…" He sighed, a large smile growing on his face.

Ren slowly made his way to the 22 year old, attempting to be as quiet as possible (he failed, however. His excitement refused to go unnoticed.)

Nora stirred in her spot and squeezed her eyes shut. "Leave me alone Jaune... " She groaned. Nora had been refusing to sleep in her own bed for two weeks now, despite Jaune's efforts.

"I'm not Jaune." Ren responded, looking down at his beautiful girlfriend. Within a millisecond, Nora's eyes shot open and looked up at the man standing over her.

"REN!" She _screamed_. Her Ren was finally home! "OHMIGOSH!" Nora literally vibrated in excitement, the largest grin he had ever seen plastered across her face. Nora tried to hop out of the couch to stand and squeeze him affectionately. She wanted to run around and kiss him all over his face! But.. all she managed to do was resemble a turtle on its back while attempting to sit up. The soft sofa didn't help- it sunk her back in even more. It was rather lumpy.

"Hey… easy there." Ren directed, snaking his arms around her back to help her sit up. Once she was up, Ren pulled away and smiled. Nora simply responded by holding out her hands. "Alright, alright." Ren chuckled, taking her hands and pulling her up. She let out a giddy squeal. "Oh dust, Nora.." He breathed, staring down at her belly.

"I missed you...soooo much.." Nora smiled, tears now forming in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around the taller man and cried.

"Shh… Don't cry." Ren consoled. Nora pulled away and punched his shoulder angrily.

"Don't you _**ever**_ do that to me again, you asshole!" She exclaimed, happy tears still streaming down her face.

"Okay." He smiled. Nora went back to wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Are you okay, Nora?" Amelia asked, slowly getting up and rubbing her sleepy eyes. When she opened them, she realized Ren and Nora standing in front of her. "Oh my gosh."

"Hello there." Ren responds, the couple looking over at the blonde haired girl.

"You made it! Uh.. Welcome!" The teen grinned. "I'm gonna get Jaune!" She exclaimed, then ran up the stairs. Nora looked back up at Ren.

"Looks like something got in between us..." Ren laughed, pointing down at her belly. Her arms were still wrapped around his neck, but her belly was blocking them from getting much closer.

"You dork." Nora giggled. His humor was not always present, but most definitely welcome. "Oh! I NEED TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING!" Nora shouted suddenly, grabbing his hand and running for the stairs.

"Nora! Nor- SLOW DOWN!" He exclaimed while being dragged up the stairs by his pregnant girlfriend.

Within a minute, the two were in Ren and Nora's room. Well...what once _was_ their room. It was now bright pink and the walls had pink decals all over it. There was a partially-built crib in the corner.

"Uh... " Ren started.

"Oh, right! Jaune and I _tried_ to build the crib... but it turns out, neither of us actually _read_ the directions when we do things!" Nora giggled. Ren smiled, making a mental note to thank Jaune later for everything he has done. "That's why I _always_ need you around, silly head. You read the stuff! And then we got hungry and I made him make me pancakes with broccoli, but they were not as great as yours of course. Actually, I haven't eaten as much while you were gone, now that I think of it. I mean, of _course_ I ate, but not like I do when I'm with you and happy! And I'm just s-"

"Nora." Ren finally spoke, interrupting her rant. He knew that once she started talking about food, he would never have the chance to speak.

"Yes, Ren?" Nora grinned, looking up at her boyfriend.

"Are we expecting a daughter?" Ren smiled.

"Hmm…." Nora wondered, placing a finger on her lip, looking as though she were thinking. "I don't know! Why would you assume that?"

"Nora... " Ren chuckled, motioning towards a wall. "Everything is pink."

"So?" Nora blinked.

"Well," Ren shrugged. "It is common for parents to decorate everything in pink when they are expecting a daughter. Blue, if they are expecting a son."

"Pfft!" Nora smacked his shoulder and blew a raspberry. "You know I don't care about those silly things! Pink is the best color no matter your gender!"

"Alright." Ren chuckled. He knew there was no point in arguing. His son or daughter would have a pink room and it was going to be great. The one thing that actually mattered, however, was the bed. "Let me finish building this, then." He said, walking over to the crib and picking up the manual.

"Aren't you tired?" Jaune said from the doorway.

The couple turned around to find Jaune standing by the door with his arms crossed and wearing a small smile.

"Hello, Jaune." Ren greeted his friend, nodding his head a bit.

"Jaune's right! You are tired! You need your rest!" Nora exclaimed, pulling the manual out of Ren's hands and flinging it elsewhere.

"I'm alright. By the way, Jaune, Thank you for - " Ren was interrupted.

"Don't worry about it." The blonde smiled. "I know you would do the same if the roles were reversed."

" ..? " Both Ren and Nora raised their eyebrows. Ren squinted a bit.

"UH- I mean, you know, not _me_ being pregnant or _with_ Nora or anything like that! Heh oh god, " Jaune scratched the back of his head sheepishly, a blush reaching his cheeks. He was visibly embarrassed. "I meant, if it was like.. uh… if I was still with… if she were still here… "

Ren nodded his head, finally understanding where Jaune was coming from. Though they were nearing the 5th year anniversary since they lost Pyrrha, the wound was _still_ healing. It _still_ hurt. Especially for Jaune.

"You are correct, Jaune." Ren stated before a flustering Jaune could embarrass himself any further. "I would not hesitate to help you."

"Me too! What's family for?!" Nora grinned. Jaune, having finally regained his composure, simply sent the couple a small smile. He and Ren made brief eye contact, remembering their discussion a few months ago.

"Thanks. Love you guys." Jaune shrugged.

"Ew! Mushy! Worse than cold eggs, WORSE THAN COLD EGGS!" Nora exclaimed, pretending to gag. Ren nudged her, and the three of them laughed.

* * *

One month went by. Nora had been a bit more irritable than usual, but that was mostly from the anxiety of her nearing her due date. That, _and_ her large belly rendering her incapable of many activities. Activities such as, but not limited to: Riding around on Magnhild, running outside during a lightning storm, dancing on the kitchen counters with a celebratory pancake in her mouth for Ren's birthday, sliding down the handrail of the stairs, running outside to fight any grimm that may have stepped foot on their property, or even simply jumping on the bed.

Well… she _could_ still technically do these things... But that would make for a very, _very_ angry Ren. And Nora knew better than to do such a thing.

"Rennnn... " Nora groaned. She was sitting on the sofa with her feet propped up on Ren's lap.

"Yes, Nora?" He looked up from massaging her feet and peered into her blue eyes.

"When will this thing come out?" She let out yet another frustrated sigh.

"Babies are not _things,_ Nora. You have three more weeks to go. Practice patience."

"Don't you sass me, young man!" Nora argued. Ren shook his head, and returned to rubbing her feet. They were swollen. She was 36 weeks, and to be fair, the baby _could_ arrive next week if it demanded.

"After this I'm gonna take Magnhild and-"

"No." Ren interrupted.

"What?! You don't even know what I was gonna sa-"

"Doesn't matter."

"Oh come on! You party pooper!"

"If Magnhild is involved, then it is too dangerous, remember?"

"Alriiight.." Nora grumbled.

* * *

The baby did not arrive that next week, a possibility Ren thought about. In fact, the baby didn't even arrive the week _after_ that.. Or the week after _that_.

6:45pm

"OH MY GOD! IT DOESN'T WANT TO LEAVE!" An angry 41-week-pregnant Nora exclaimed, marching into the bedroom. They had just finished dinner and decided to wind down for bed. The redhead was frustrated that yet another day went by without the birth of her child. She stood in the middle of the room ranting and raving, while Ren was lying in bed, quietly reading a book. "I've tried _**everything**_! And it doesn't wanna get out!" Nora said. Ren glared at her over his book when she said ' _everything'_. "Uh- and by everything, I mean.. I walked all over the house and went up and down the stairs. I ate spicy food all week! I even drank that yucky raspberry tea thing!"

"Red raspberry leaf tea." Ren corrected.

"Yeah, that! And **nothi** \- " Nora suddenly stopped in her tracks and hunched over a little bit.

"Nora?" Ren sat up, putting his book down on his lap.

"Oh... _that_ was weird.." Nora's eyebrows stitched together as she stood closer to the bed, grasping at the furniture to steady herself. She appeared to be in pain.

"What happened? What's wrong?" Ren asked, immediately by her side.

"Uh... " Nora sounded as though she was about to start talking again, only to stop and lean onto Ren completely. "Okay, I. .. I take back what.… I said." Nora gasped and spoke through her pain. "I...I think this thing w- wants out!"

"Time we left!" Ren said, grabbing Nora and helping her out of the room.

* * *

Nora did not give birth that night. Not technically, anyway. The night was dreadfully long and stressful for the couple. The electricity went out not once, not twice, but _tree times_ during contractions (thanks to Nora's semblance?), and she may or may not have accidentally broken Ren's wrist. She was tired, sweaty, screaming, happy, crying, hungry, impatient, sleepy, and angry. Worst of all, she was in _extreme_ pain.

 _Finally,_ their child arrived at 12:13am, with a small, quiet cry that she probably took after her father.

"Does this make her a morning baby? Or a night baby?" Was the very first thing a _woozy_ Nora would ask, directly after the baby came out. Nora even managed a giggle. The doctor and nurse looked at each other with a confused look.

"Morning, I suppose." Ren answered her with a smile, wiping away the sweaty bangs from Nora's eyes as she lied there, legs propped up, but still exhausted. The medicine, labor, birth, and exhaustion turned her into a beautiful, slurring mess. The nurse across the room was both cleaning the newborn and trying to get it to cry some more.

Then, the sound of _extremely_ loud crying filled the ears of everyone in that room.

"Heeyyy! That's _my_ voicee!"

"That it is." Ren grinned, observing as the nurse carefully wrapped their baby in a pink blanket and walked over to the new parents.

"Pink! _Yes!_ " Nora exclaimed. The nurse smiled, handing off the baby to Ren. This was the widest grin Nora has ever seen Ren produce in her entire life. "Seeee? We really doo have family n-oww..." She smiled. He was unable to reply, for some reason. He could not tear his eyes away from the beautiful child in his arms. He could cry right now, if he allowed himself.

Ren lowered the baby into Nora's arms and they both looked down at her. The baby had quieted down.

"Wait, so we _do_ have a daughter, right?" Nora asked Ren, "Because the blanket is pink. They didn't just do that 'cause it's my favorite color, right?"

Ren chuckled and kissed the top of Nora's head. "Yes, Nora. We have a daughter."

"Aww….." Nora squealed and looked back down at the beautiful baby in her arms. She sniffled, tears suddenly forming in her eyes. "S-she looks just like you… "

To anyone, they would say that this child looked _exactly_ like Ren. Pink eyes and black hair. To Ren, however, all he could see was Nora. Her mouth, nose, chin, brow, pink cheeks, everything. Even the small smile the baby produced after she yawned resembled Nora. Ren didn't realize when tears started escaping his eyes too, but they did.

 _Lily. Like the flower._

* * *

"Can we give her a second name?" Nora asked, looking up at Ren. They had been in the hospital for a few hours now, both of them just waking up to the sounds of their crying, hungry child. Nora was now feeding her as the two new parents engaged in relaxing conversation.

"If you wish. No one in my family has ever had a second or middle name before." He smiled, "But this is different."

"I was thinking, maybe... Pira Lily. or something.. Ya know, Pira, after Pyrrha? But spelled differently... Not exactly her… because no one will ever be exactly Pyrrha. We can simply call her Lily. But I wanted to honor my other best friend. Do you think Jaune would like it too? I mean we all loved Pyrrha. Everyone did! And I _know_ everyone will love our daughter, too. If not, I'll break their legs!"

"Yes, Nora. I think Jaune will think it's great, too... Pira Lily. I like it." Ren smiled.

"Of course, her last name will be Valkyrie!" Nora beamed. Ren glared at her. "Justttt kidding, Mr. Lie!"

"You shall both have my last name." Ren says casually, "...and anyone else that comes along after Lily."

The wide grin and blush on Nora's face could not be contained. She remained silent, nervous, and bashful. Ren smiled back at her.

* * *

On Lily's very first birthday, Nora was a bit impatient that Lily had yet to learn to walk. Ren had no worries.

Two months later, while Ren and Nora were on their honeymoon, Weiss had taught Lily to walk. Jaune taught Lily her very first word: "bunny!" (While pointing to his Pumpkin Pete's hoodie). Yang taught Lily some more interesting words: "Heyoo," "Badass," and a few funny attempts at "Strawberry sunrise." Let's just say, Ren wasn't amused when the two came home.

The couple took note to make sure Yang wouldn't babysit Lily alone whenever they went out on a mission together. (They did still need to make money, after all).

Ruby was Lily's favorite babysitter, but Weiss would never admit that _she_ was the one most attached to the rascal. Blake always read to Lily, and Weiss always sang. Yang still came along, and the two would get into all kinds of fun trouble. Lily loved Yang because she reminded her of her mom.

When the couple returned from a mission, they bought a home of their own for the first time ever. Lily terrorized it by knocking everything over and climbing anything she could reach. Overprotective Ren was constantly on her tail, while Nora would laugh. "She'll learn! Let her explore!"

On Lily's second birthday, however, Ren had to illuminate the house using various candles and flashlights. The 2 year old had been running around excitedly and unintentionally blowing out all of the lightbulbs in the house, thanks to a passed-down semblance. Months later, the parents realized that her semblance seemed to work a bit differently. She _controlled_ the electricity, not channel it into her body like Nora. This would explain the hospital's electricity going out, two years ago.

Lily's semblance was just like Nora's father.

As the years went by, every time the power went out in the house, Ren couldn't quite tell whether to blame his daughter or his wife smiling sheepishly next to her.

Actually… yes, he could tell.

"Nora," he would sigh, "Please stop letting our 4 year old daughter use all the energy in the house to electrocute you."

"Doyouthinkmysemblanceisbadforthebaby? OhbythewayI'mpregnantagain." She announced quickly and a bit nervously.

"WHAT!" Ren passed out.

* * *

A year later, Nora cried on Lily's first day of school. Lily was her partner in crime! Now what will Nora do all day while their newborn daughter was asleep?!

Of course, stoic Ren simply sent his daughter a small smile. "Good luck. You will do well, I know it." and sent her off on her way. Nora would then shout, "Have fun! Break legs!" after.

Ren was not wrong, of course. Despite their concerns, Lily was the most well-behaved child of the entire group. She did well all throughout her school years.

One day, Ren came home to find Nora and their two daughters passed out on the couch. He smiled wide. His three favorite girls. His family.

* * *

12 years later, Pira Lily would attend Beacon and become a part of team PSTL (Pastel, though, Lily preferred to call it Pistol).

She was every bit as enthusiastic, passionate, and cheerful as Nora. But she was also as dedicated, patient, and careful as Ren. She fought with grace using a javelin and shield, which was gifted to her by her favorite uncle, Jaune Arc. She was obsessed with cookies, ice skating, singing, books, comics, music, movies, and hair.

Lily was not just Ren _or_ Nora. She was a beautiful blend of everyone who loved her... even those she never had the opportunity to meet.

* * *

One day, years later, Ren knew it was going to happen.

This mission did not go as smoothly as planned. He stared at the evil surrounding he and his beautiful wife, before looking back at her. The two shared a sad, knowing smile.

"I love you." he said.

"Together, always." she responded.

* * *

"You two would be so proud." Lily whispered, looking into the sky. She gripped tightly onto her younger sister with a proud smile.

The youngest had recently graduated from Beacon, and they were off on their very first mission together.

* * *

 **(sigh)**

 **Wowowow.**

 **I hope that the ending wasn't terrible. I was... unsure.**

 **I didn't even want to stop writing this! Hell, I would have kept writing for generations. hahaha. but yeah.. I hope you guys liked this. I couldn't get it off my mind.**

 **The idea was that no one is born into (or dies) a perfect fairy-tale life... things can start messy, and end good. Or start great, and end messy. Or start okay, and then messy, and then okay, and then great, and then messy, and then...ah! you get the point! I'm sorry for rambling!**

 **(And, no, you don't have to look at this as it being in the same universe as the rest of the one-shots if you don't want to :D )**

 **(p.s.: Wanna know what was Ren and Nora's morning? Their baby! Lily is a "morning" baby! haha xD)**

 **(p.s.s I'm still sorry if it sucks lol i dont know why i'm extra insecure about my writing today)**

 **(p.s.s.s next chapter we will go back to happy fluffy beacon happiness!)**

 **~Thank you for reading~**


	7. Christmas Eve-Eve!

**Okay, this may or may not be a bit au-ish, because I don't think Remnant celebrates Christmas? Heck, we don't even know if they have the same month-system that we do! Haha. Anywho, I'm writing this assuming that Christmas is a thing and I HOPE YOU ENJOY ITTT!~**

 **Happy Holidays, everyone!**

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Nora **screamed**. _At 4:30 in the morning._

This instantly had Ren at his feet, despite being in deep sleep just a few moments prior. When he blinked a few times to focus his vision, he saw Nora standing on her bed with her arms thrown in the air excitedly. Jaune sat up to glare at his excitable teammate.

"... This is not an actual emergency, is it?" Ren sighed.

"Is everything okay?" Pyrrha asked as she brought her head up from under her blanket.

"IT'S! CHRISTMAS! EVE- _EVE_!" Nora screamed again. It's December 23rd.

"Great! Can we go back to sleep now?" Jaune said, from his own bed.

A sleepy Pyrrha can be heard grumbling something along the lines of " _That's not actually a thing.."_

"No no no nonono! We must _do_ things!" Nora jumped on her bed, gesticulating with her arms. She was extremely excited. Pyrrha simply flopped her head back down into her pillow and tried to tune everyone out.

"At 4:30 in the morning?" Jaune asked. Nora nodded her head excitedly at him, only for him to fall back onto his bed.

"Nora, what _things_ do you have in mind?" Ren said suspiciously.

"Well! First we need to go to Vale to buy lots and lots of food! And then we need to make COOKIES! But don't tell Ruby that. And then we need to finish decorating the tree, make a gingerbread house, and wrap our presents!"

"... But Nora, I already finished wrapping my presents. And Vale's shopping center will be much too crowded. The procrastinators are doing their last minute shopping." Ren stated, a clear distaste for the last minute shoppers.

"Heh….heh…...heh.." Nora blushed.

"You're one of those procrastinators, aren't you?" Ren sighed, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe…. But I neeeeed to gooo! And I need your help wrapping presents because you do such a nice neat job and mine always end up looking like poop and somehow I always end up with paper-cuts in places paper shouldn't go like remember that one time on your birthday I got _three_ on my b-rbhmphmffpf-"

"Understood." Ren stopped her, covering her mouth with a hand. The rest of team JNPR sighed in relief. "Fine. I will go with you to Vale, Nora." He said before uncovering her mouth.

"YYAAYY! You guys are coming too, right?!" Nora exclaimed as she turned around to face Jaune and Pyrrha. Nora was vibrating with excitement. However, the two teammates feigned sleep, Jaune even letting out a false snore. "Aww…" a disappointed sound escaped Nora's lips. Feeling like she just kicked a kitten in the face, Pyrrha almost went to say something before Ren began.

"Don't worry Nora," He chuckled while shaking his head at Jaune and Pyrrha's behavior. "You and I could get everything done."

With this, Nora grinned.

"Now, will you get down?" Ren motioned to her feet and offered her his hand. She was still standing on the edge of her bed.

"Oh, right!" Nora took his hand and excitedly jumped onto the ground. "I'm gonna get ready! You should tooo~! ASAP! PRONTO!" She skipped away towards the bathroom.

Ren released a tired sigh.

He walked over to their shared closet, which was directly in front of the foot of his bed, and pulled out _both_ of their clothes for the day. He knew that if Nora went to grab her own clothes, she would not be dressed appropriately for the weather. A skirt serves no purpose while there is snow outside!

The two friends got ready with only a few protests from Nora's end.

"Pants suck!" She would argue.

She listened to Ren anyway, of course.

* * *

Vale was beautiful this time of year; bright lights, wreaths, Christmas decorations, and some remnants of snow still lingering on the side of the road or atop buildings. Nora skipped ahead of Ren as the two walked down the sidewalk, heading towards the shopping center.

"Be careful, there could be ice on the ground." He advised. As if he predicted the future, Nora slid and fell on her bum. A few snickers could be heard from bystanders.

"Oops." She giggled. Ren glared at a few of the laughing people before making his way to help Nora stand up.

"You don't listen to me sometimes, do you?" He smiled.

"Of course I do!" She beamed. "You said something about n _ **ice**_ m _ **ound**_ s."

"Umm… No, actually." Ren stated dryly as he turned away to hide his face; his stoic look was faltering while a small blush appeared. He continued walking, leaving his friend slightly behind him. Nora simply laughed.

"I know I know! I'm just _kidding!~_ " She sang as she caught up with Ren and wrapped an arm around his waist. Without thinking, he wrapped his left arm around her shoulders, only to blush a little more a few seconds after realizing what he did. He left it there, not wanting to make it obvious that he did it without thinking.

The two had made their way into the shopping center's entrance. It was practically a giant, open, outdoor mall.

"I wonder what Pyrrha would like. Or Jaune. Oooh! Maybe I could get them a cute matchy couple gift," Nora giggled. "They should _totally_ get a matchy couple gift!"

"I won't stop you." He chuckled. He often had to stop Nora from trying to push Jaune and Pyrrha together, but this seemed innocent enough.

"Well, it depends on _what_ you get… " Ren added after realizing that she could probably take this gift down an embarrassing route.

"What? I'm not gonna get them sex toys or anything! Ick!"

" _Nora!_ " Ren hissed, covering her mouth again with his mitten, using the arm that was around her shoulders. A slight hint of pink was returning to his face. "Would you not talk like that in public?" He whispered, motioning towards the many innocent civilians ( _and children)_ within earshot.

She began to speak, only for it to come out sounding like muffles.

"Are you going to keep this conversation appropriate?" Ren asked.

Nora nodded a 'yes.'

"Alright." He proceeded to remove his hand from her mouth and place it back on her shoulder (because he still had his arm wrapped around her shoulders and refused to separate)

"Pfft. They shouldn't be eavesdropping on us, anyway! Team Sloth ears, **only**!" Nora glared at the people, motioning to her left ear.

No one was actually paying them any attention at all, though.

"Team Sloth?" Ren questioned, letting a very _small_ smile escape his lips.

"Yeah! That's us! Ya know, because we're partners! I made the sloth call in the Emerald Forest and _you_ founndd meee!~" She sang again.

"That I did."

* * *

Team Sloth finished their _(_ _Nora's)_ Christmas shopping and were now on an airship, on their way back to Beacon.

It was a fun day for the two of them, actually. Nora happily skipped from store to store, and the two of them even played a few of the games in the arcade. They enjoyed lunch together, ran around outside, pet a few dogs, and Nora excitedly purchased gifts for all of the friends that she loved so much (That includes team Rwby!).

Ren even pretended not to look as she chose a gift _(_ _or 3_ _)_ for him. Though, it was no secret: She was asking him what to get for her " _bestest guy friend"_ the entire time. She stuck with a new smoothie blender, a recipe book, and a good set of knives. (Ren was pretty excited about these, and secretly wished he could open it and use it today!)

"You sure did splurge on your ' _friend'_ today." Ren commented, motioning towards the bags with his gifts. He had to admit, all those things she got him were rather expensive.

"Pfft, he deserves it." Nora grinned.

"Where did you get this money from, anyway?"

"...no where." Nora turned her face away sheepishly. With a light glare, he sighed. Ren decided not to ask. This was a nice day, he didn't want to ruin it by giving himself a heart attack over Nora's antics.

* * *

"We're hooOooomee!~" Nora sang, slamming open the door to team JNPR's dorm room.

"How was your day, Nora?" Pyrrha smiled, welcoming the girl. She was sitting at her desk doing homework, before turning towards the excited girl in front of her.

"IT was sOo fun! Ren and I went _all over_ Vale!"

"The shopping center." Ren corrected.

"And we went _ice skating!_ " Nora threw her hands in the air, and Pyrrha smiled while listening to her story.

"She slipped and fell on an icy sidewalk." He corrected, again.

"And then we went into _every._ single. store!"

Ren nodded when Pyrrha looked at him, expecting a correction. This one was actually true.

"And then for lunch we went to a restaurant and I made Ren get me the **biggest** bowl of pasta! **EVER!** IT WAS LIKE MY WEIGHT, BUT IN PASTA! I ate it all! My pasta weight!... I threw up afterwards!" Nora vibrated. She was visibly the happiest person on Remnant.

Ren nodded again, but Pyrrha didn't bother looking at him. Knowing Nora, this one had to be true.

"Then we went outside and I played with a bunch of giant sloths!"

"She pet a few dogs." Ren translated.

"Well," Pyrrha added, stopping Nora from continuing her rambunctious story. "That sounds like a lovely day! I assume you need to wrap all your presents now, don't you?"

"Oh! Yeah, I do! Where's Jaune?!" Nora glared around the room suspiciously, "I don't want him to see his gift! And you too!" She pointed at Pyrrha's nose, booping it lightly.

"He is in the courtyard, on a call with his family. He's sad he could not be with them for the holidays." Pyrrha said with a sad smile. Nora's body relaxed as she mouthed ' _Oohhh...'_

"Speaking of which, I have to call mine." Pyrrha giggled, standing up and grabbing her scroll.

"Good. I, uh, don't want you here to look at your gift!" Nora added with a wide, fake grin.

"I will be back soon. Have fun!" Pyrrha smiled at the two and walked away. The moment Pyrrha closed the door behind her, Nora instantly dropped her fake grin. She moved over towards her bed and sat at the edge.

"What? Are you no longer excited about wrapping all these presents?" Ren said, giving her a small smile. He already knew what was wrong, though.

Nora watched him as he made his way towards her bed and sat right next to her.

"I dunno." Nora shrugged. "I just don't understand people sometimes. If I had a family, I would be _with_ them by now."

"You _are_ with them." Ren smiled, putting his arm around her again. This time, it was intentional.

"Yeah... but, but..like, Jaune and Pyrrha… they're here and not there! With their real family. And team Rwby too.. Why won't anyone go with their family?!" Nora asked. Ren shrugged.

"Perhaps this is their first Christmas _away_ from their families. Maybe they were excited about spending the holidays with their friends rather than their families for once."

"I would rather the opposite." Nora mumbled.

"Well, perhaps they want to experience something new… " Ren trailed off. He could not find the right words, so instead he just held her tighter.

"It's okay, Ren. It's different for them. I understand." Nora sent him a small smile.

Suddenly, Nora rested her chin on his shoulder and gave him big puppy eyes. He knew this look.

"Can you wrap these up for meee? _Pweeeeeez_?"

Ren looked down at Nora, who was very close to his own face, and felt a small flutter in his heart. He could feel her breath.

And, how could he say no to those big, beautiful eyes?

"Fine." He smiled, pretending to sound reluctant. He knew this was going to happen, anyway.

* * *

Team Sloth _(_ _Ren_ _)_ wrapped every single one of Nora's gifts (all 10 of them; she had a gift for Zwei, too!) He even wrapped his own gift from Nora. He knew that when he had to open it on Christmas day, he was going to have to act surprised.

He didn't mind.

"Reennnn!" Nora cried.

Ren looked up from his project (wrapping a giant, oddly shaped item. Much more difficult to wrap than it looks.) He sighed at the view.

"Helllppppp… " Nora whined.

"How you end up in such peculiar situations in less than a minute is beyond me." Ren stated, removing the tape that Nora had covered herself in.

"Ow!" She said as he accidentally pulled the tape from her arm too hard. "You hurt me!"

"Are you going to call Pyrrha on me, again?"

"Look! My arm is all red!" Nora argued.

"This is your own fault, you know. Why did you wrap yourself up in tape?" Ren asked. Despite the lecture, he was gently rubbing the red spot on her arm with his thumb.

"For science."

"I am curious about what kind of research you are conducting."

"It's physiology!" Nora grinned. "My hypothesis was that maybe I could shrink my adipose tissue by taping myself. So… here's my experiment!"

"I have so many questions." Jaune stated, suddenly walking in through the door. Nora was completely covered in tape, and talking about physiology and hypothesis. Ren was kneeling down on the ground in front of Nora, attempting to remove tape from her thigh.

"Ask and you shall receive! Maybe." Nora grinned at her leader.

"I have no more questions." Jaune retracted his statement.

"OW!" Nora jumped and lightly smacked the top of Ren's head. "Stop pulling so hard! I have peach fuzz, ya know!"

"Then stop moving. And no more taping yourself. You absolutely do not need to shrink any adipose tissue."

"Is adipose tissue a tumor or something?" Jaune raised an eyebrow and began slowly removing some tape from Nora's shoulder.

"No. It is connective tissue composed of adipocytes that fills up space between organs and provides structural and metabolic support." Nora said, dryly. " _Duh,_ you should know this!"

"Uh…"

"It's fat." Ren translated.

"Didn't know Nora was such a science nerd." Jaune joked, later receiving a smack upside the head by Nora.

* * *

It was only 3PM and Nora had forced her team into: ugly Christmas sweaters, extreme Christmas decorating, extreme Christmas games, extreme Christmas sparring, extreme Christmas baking, extreme Christmas movies, and blaring extreme Christmas music. Well, as extreme as Ren would allow for Nora.

"YEAH! Time to make 32 gingerbread houses!" Nora exclaimed to her teammates who were all lying on the ground in the dorm, visibly exhausted. Nora happily skipped off towards the kitchen and singing to herself, " _Best Christmas everrr!~ Got to spend it with my bestest friends everr!~"_

She left the kitchen door open, expecting her friends to follow behind.

Jaune and Pyrrha groaned while Ren stood up and dusted himself off. Heading towards the kitchen door, he quickly stopped and turned on his heel to say something to his friends.

"Don't worry, guys. I'll let her know that we only need four." Ren consoled with a smile. He was having fun, deep down.

The two remaining team members on the floor let out yet another groan.

"Not interested?" Ren chuckled. Nora walked up behind Ren, ready to say " _Hey slowpokes, come join me!"_ until one of her teammates began to speak.

"We're miserable!" Jaune exclaimed dramatically, his face buried on the ground. "And I thought having 7 sisters would be exhausting..this is so much worse!"

Both Ren and Nora frowned. However, no one had noticed Nora was at the door behind Ren until she turned around and scattered away. This time, she slammed the kitchen door shut.

"Huh?" Ren muttered, quickly turning around to face the closed door. Jaune shot his head up in confusion as well.

A moment later, it clicked in their heads that Nora had been listening.

Ren turned back around to face Jaune and Pyrrha. Jaune had a blank look on his face, while Pyrrha looked apologetic, even though she didn't exactly say anything at all.

The two knew that anybody who upset Nora has _automatically_ crossed Ren; and they feared his wrath for they have never actually seen it before. (Most people weren't close enough to be able to upset Nora)

However, Ren was much more understanding with his teammates.

"I-I didn't realiz-" Jaune stuttered.

"Guys…" Ren closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. He almost looked frustrated. This caused the other two members of the team to sit up straight on the ground. "I am not sure if you know, but this is actually the first time in a _long_ time since we've ever celebrated Christmas." He sighed, opening his eyes again. He never liked to mention their past. If Ren and Nora were exactly the same in any way, it would be that the two preferred not to dwell on their past for too long, and would rather focus on their present. Holidays were hard, though.

"Before this, we couldn't even do anything. We did not have Lien to buy anything. Sometimes, the holidays would just come and go. We wouldn't realize it was Christmas unless we heard families singing or laughing from inside their homes while we sat outside in the streets."

Jaune faced the ground, smothered in guilt. Pyrrha looked up at Ren with wide green eyes, heartbroken.

Ren was genuinely not trying to punish them or make them feel awful. In fact, he understood that Nora could be a bit much at times. However, in this case, he felt that her point of view needed to be understood. He was, for once, justifying her extreme behavior.

"Nora doesn't even remember the last time she spent a holiday with her family. She may be rambunctious at times, but she means well. She is just very excited because... Well, we finally have some sort of family to celebrate with. She does not mean to make anyone miserable."

Before anything else could be said, he turned around and quickly entered the kitchen.

"Nora." Ren breathed. He saw her, sitting at the table with her arms folded over it and her head resting within her arms. Broken gingerbread surrounded her on the table.

Ren approached Nora and placed his left hand on her back, while his right index finger ran across the surface of the table, picking up crumbs.

"Why did you do this?" Ren asked sadly. "I wanted to build a home with you."

"I don't want a gingerbread house." Nora mumbled. "I'm too broken.."  
"No, you aren't." He countered. "Let's build one together."

Whenever he found Nora feeling down, he always started off the conversation on a lighter topic. If that didn't work, then he would get to the source of the issue.  
"Just make one yourself..."

"But you crushed all the cookie."

Nora did not say anything, but she shrugged. She was still face-down against the table. He began to rub her back.

"I can bake us fresh cookie and we can start over." He suggested.

"What's the point?" Nora shrugged, finally sitting up the look at him. Her small frown and wide blue eyes drowned him in sadness.

Ren frowned. He was still trying to cheer her up, but he knew that it wouldn't be the same unless Jaune and Pyrrha walked in with the same Christmas enthusiasm that Nora had earlier today (and an apology)

"I've tried… all day, to celebrate like all the other families do in movies and stuff. I guess I just don't know how."

"Hey," Ren said, pulling out a chair and sitting next to his partner. "I've had fun all day."

Automatically, Nora leaned sideways to rest her head on him and wrap her arms tightly around Ren. He hesitated for a moment, but proceeded to wrap his arms around her too.

"May we come in?" Pyrrha asked, walking in with Jaune. Nora lifted her head to glance past Ren and over at the duo.

"Hey… you put them back on." Nora acknowledged the dorky, scratchy Christmas sweaters that Jaune and Pyrrha were wearing. They removed them earlier because it was just _too much Christmas._

Jaune and Pyrrha walked over to the table and sat down, Pyrrha on the other side of Nora. Jaune sat directly across from her.

"Yeah, I really like mine. I had to take it off earlier, though, because it was too warm." Jaune smiled at Nora, who kept a neutral expression. "Um yeah… look, Nora.." Jaune sheepishly scratched the top of his head. "I wanted to apologize for being frustrated earlier. It's because I was tired and I've been a bit grumpy all day."

"I can tell. Grinch." She responded.

"I mean if I'm grumpy for a day just because I'm missing out on being with my family this year, I can't imagine how… wh-, uh.." He stopped when both Pyrrha and Ren shot their heads up at Jaune, almost as if saying " _watch your words because the direction you're going in right now doesn't sound all that great"_

Jaune shook his head vigorously. "Sorry, uh, what I mean to say is..Just because I was grumpy doesn't mean I have a right to take away your spirit?"

Nora squinted her eyes at him, unsure.

"I think what he means to say is," Pyrrha said, ready to translate for her partner, "He is deeply sorry for what he said. He woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and then got upset because I didn't give him any Pumpkin Pete's cereal."

Nora gasped. "No!"

"Mmhm." Pyrrha nodded her head. "Have you two ever read the ingredients list on that box? It's atrocious."

"She's definitely not wrong. I went from eating two boxes a day, to barely having a bowl! I need my fix. _Pyrrha_!" Jaune whined. Pyrrha and Nora giggled, while Ren smiled softly.

After a moment of silence, Nora spoke up again with a soft voice.

"Am I really worse than seven sisters?" she frowned. Instantly, all three teammates were looking at Jaune expectantly.

"Uh-" He was a bit taken aback by all the eyes on him. "No, definitely not. No better or worse.. You're **exactly** like them, actually. And that's honestly a great thing, because now I definitely feel at home." He smiled.

"Aw, thanks Jaune. You're like the sister I never had." Nora grinned.

"Thank you?" Jaune responded.

Suddenly, Nora gave him a distinct smile. "Soo...what about Pyrrha?"

"What?" Jaune's eyebrows raised in a mix of confusion and anxiety. He's beginning to tell the difference between Nora's smiles- and this one is definitely made of evil! Pure evil!

"Oh, what about Pyrrha? You know… is she _exactly_ like a sister to you? Or is she worse? Better? Or….not like a sister at alllll? hmm?" She wiggled her eyebrows. Pyrrha sat back in her chair, face crimson.

Ren would normally intervene, but he knew she was simply trying to get payback.

He didn't exactly mind, after all. Nora was giggling next to him, his arm bouncing with her shoulders. He had completely forgotten that his arm was still around her.

"Ha, ha. Real funny, Nora." Jaune responded sarcastically.

* * *

Team JNPR baked whatever they had left of any gingerbread cookie mix and created three houses. Pyrrha and Jaune had their own houses, while Ren and Nora decorated one house together.

"Look Ren! Our home is beautiful!" Nora giggled, popping a gummy candy in her mouth. "And we can be neighbors with Jaune and Pyrrha!"

"That is a lovely house." Pyrrha complimented the neat gingerbread structure covered in a lot of pink frosting, candies, and sprinkles. Do sprinkles even go on gingerbread houses?

Pyrrha's house was neatly decorated with all her candies spaced out perfectly.

"What about mine?" Jaune grinned at his partner.

Jaune's structure looked like it was about to topple over and had candies placed in random areas.

"It... has a nice color scheme to it!"

* * *

(Later that evening)

"Hey, guys?" Nora called out to her team while she was jumping on Ren's bed. He was sitting all the way up by the headboard, reading and attempting to avoid her feet.

"Yes?" Pyrrha and Jaune asked collectively.

"Thanks for all the fun today! I can't wait until tomorrow! Team RWBY is coming over and we get to do it alllll over again!" She grinned.

JPR groan in unison.

Nora responded with a giggle, somersaulting in the air on her last jump and landed _(on Ren)_ on the bed.


	8. Of Laundry, Bickering, and Puns!

"Thank you so much for saving me, Ren!~ you're such a hero!" Nora sighed.

"Nora?" Ren asked

"Yes Ren?"

"Nora?"

"Hmm?" Nora responded. Her world was shaking.

"Nora. Wake up." Ren's voice could be heard from the outside world. The redhead had been dreaming.

"Mmm… Ren…." Nora sighed in her sleep. This caused a light tint of pink to appear on his face.

"Nora!" Ren called out. He had his hands on her shoulders, shaking her.

"Whaaaaat!?" Nora whined, finally picking up her head. She was lying in her bed, but sleeping on her stomach. Ren was sitting next to her, where he had been attempting to wake her for the past 10 minutes now.

"Finally." He sighed, scowling at her.

" _Good morning_." Nora said sarcastically.

"It's 2pm."

"So?"

"Its laundry day."

"... So?"

"Nora, I am not doing your laundry again." Ren argued. Nora sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Fiiiinnee." She grumbled and rolled out of bed reluctantly. Literally. She rolled and landed on the floor.

"Um. You're okay, right?" Ren asked, looking at the girl lying on the ground next to his feet.

"Yeahhh. Hey, Ren? ...Am I gonna _have to_ fold my clothes?"

"Yes. If you don't, they will get wrinkles." Ren stated.

"Ughhh…." Nora groaned, her face buried in the floor's carpeting. "But Jaune doesn't fold his clothes!"

"Jaune can be a bit… untidy."

"Then why can't I be?!" Nora argued back, now facing him. "I don't care if my clothes are wrinkled. Jaune doesn't. This is inequality!" Nora declared.

Ren sighed.

"Fine. Don't fold your clothes." Ren shrugged and walked away from her, heading towards his green laundry bag. There was never a day where the two did not bicker like an old married couple. Neither would have it any other way.

Nora hopped up and changed into her day-clothes before grabbing her pink laundry bag. Kindly, Ren had already put her dirty clothes in it for her before even waking her up.

She and Ren made their way to the laundry room where the two proceeded to load their clothes into a washing machine.

"Rennnnn… " Nora groaned. "This is so boring. What do we do noowwww?"

"We wait. It will wash for another...say, 15 minutes?" Ren estimated, squinting at the rumbling machine timer from across the room.

"This is the worst day _ever_. And I didn't even have breakfast."

"You woke up at 2pm."

"I am literally the most miserable person ever right now."

"It's just laundry."

"I think I'm gonna drop out of Beacon. I'm so upset."

"Hasty decision." Ren smirked, knowing she was only saying these things to get a reaction out of him. Yet she received no more than a simple, nonchalant answer from him.

"Rennn!" Nora whined again.

"Why are you being whiney, Nora?"

"It's cause I've been drinking _wine_!" Nora grinned, elbowing Ren and staring at his face, expecting a laugh. She wiggled her eyebrows for good measure.

"No, that was not even remotely funny."

"Oh c'mon! Yang does it all the time!" Nora pouts.

"My point still stands."

"Point….more like... _pun_ t?! Heh heh!"

"Nora, you're _very_ bad at this."

"I am not!" She argued, "I should become a comedian!"

"I'm thinking no."

"I'm thinking _yes_."

"It physically hurts me to hear puns coming from _you_ , Nora."

"Fine, I'll keep my day job."

"You don't have a day job."

"I do! My job is bothering you." She beamed.

"You are in the right profession, then." Ren responded.

A laugh suddenly erupted in the room, interrupting Ren and Nora.

"Whoa. You two have _actual_ conversations? You mean, it's not just Nora talking at you, Ren?" Yang cracked up as she waltzed in, carrying 2 full bags of laundry.

How long was she there?

"Speak of the devil." Nora grinned.

"Aw, you two were chattin' about me? How sweet!" The blonde grinned proudly, throwing the laundry loads on top of two washing machines. Was she carrying a second one for someone else?

"Nora was attempting to steal your day job." Ren stated plainly.

"Her what?" Weiss asked, walking in as well. Ren's statement confused both members of team RWBY. When Weiss looked to Yang, the blonde just shrugged. Nora laughed while Ren let out a small chuckle.

"...Nevermind. They're _both_ weird." Weiss added, shaking her head at the two.

"Hey!"

* * *

 **This was a ficlet I started, but never came around to finishing. I didn't know where I was going with this, but I thought their little conversation was cute so I threw it in here anyway. I hope you guys like it =)**

 **Deep down, Yang and Weiss adore Ren and Nora! Lol**


End file.
